Let the Flames Begin
by Lissa88
Summary: If the roles were switched, if Bella was a vampire and Edward was human, how would the story play out? Will Bella give in, and change Edward, so that they can be together forever? Rated T for now.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **This is just something I've had in my head a little while, mainly inspired by Midnight Sun, and slightly by Breaking Dawn (I love Bella as a vampire, even if I kind of hate that book). I hope you enjoy it. I'm not sure how far I'll go with it, and I'm not even sure if I'm going to make the plot sequence similar to Twilight, but reversed, or if I'm going to try and create more of an original plot. Guess we'll see. This story if from Bella's point of view, and I'm fairly certain I want to keep it that way, so unless I say otherwise, it's all Bella's POV. This first chapter seems kind of long to me, and I doubt they'll all be this long. I proofed it myself, so if there's any errors in grammar or spelling, I apologize. Anyways, enjoy!

* * *

I sat in my room, staring at the clock on the bedside table. It wasn't beside a bed, as the name implies, but I couldn't think of a more appropriate name to call it, so bedside table it remained. It made my dark room illuminate with a neon green. It was 3:47 AM, Monday morning, and I was bored. Even though school was completely inane, sometimes the weekends were much, much worse. This was one of those weekends. I really wish I was able to sleep, just to pass the time. It was excrutiating to sit here and watch the minutes on the clock, ever so slowly sliding to 8 AM, when I could finally go to school and escape this relentless boredom. Everyone else was away with their significant others. Rosalie and Emmett were... preoccupied. Carlisle and Esme were hunting. Jasper and Alice were off play-fighting, or something like that. And here I sat, staring at the clock, and thinking about how no one else had to sit and stare at the clock like this. I was slightly bitter, being the only one of my family not paired off. And at times like these, I felt especially bitter. The second worst part of being alone was the boredom. It seemed like my family never felt bored, because when you're with the one you love, how could you? But I was, and it wasn't always so easy to solve.

I had already hunted on Friday night, and I couldn't bring myself to be thirsty enough to hunt again, just to kill a few hours. Television didn't seem like a great option, especially with nothing of interest on at this late hour. Ridiculous infomercials with the all too enthusiastic merchant, trying to get you to buy their new magic squeegee, or miracle omelette maker. And if it wasn't someone trying to sell me the cheapest piece of plastic out there for $19.95, it was the reality TV. Even worse. I really should kill whoever created that droll. It's the worst excuse for entertainment ever known to man. So I wouldn't subject myself to television. And I had read all of the books in my room already, and reading one again, even though it may kill an hour, was pointless. With my photographic memory, I had everything memorized. All I'd have to do is think of a title, and I could recite the book in my head. And that just didn't seem like much fun to me at the moment.

No, I wanted to be with someone. I wanted some company. If boredom was the second worst part of being alone, then the worst part was the loneliness. worst part of being alone? Big surprise, right? But it can cut right through you, that loneliness, and that's when my bitterness sets in. I try to hide it the best I can for my family, because even though I'm jealous that they've all found love and companionship, I'm truly happy for all of them. And I can't ask for a better family. I love them all very much, but it isn't enough to chase off the bitter and the lonely when they come knocking at my door again.

So there I sat, staring at the clock. I sighed, and gave up, deciding that if I sat here any longer, I'd go mad. I sprinted out my window, landing agilely on the soft grass, and took off running. I wasn't sure where to go, but I couldn't stand to look at that clock for even a second longer. I ran when I felt desperate, and right now, I was desperate for something to do. So I ran, and let the cool, wet wind whip across my face, blowing my long brown hair in all different directions. It helped, a little. I felt freed from the prison of the house. The other prison, however, the one I suffered in solitary confinement in, was still shackeling me no matter how far or how fast I ran.

* * *

I had run all the way to Los Angeles and back, and when I was home, it was finally time for school. I saw the outfit Alice had laid out on my couch for the day, and cringed a little. I wasn't in much of a dressy mood, but I had learned from experience that if I didn't wear what Alice picked for me, I wouldn't hear the end of it until I put the outfit on. So with exasperation, I put on the black pencil skirt and red cardigan. I glared at the shoes. I was never one for heels, and she had picked 4 inch, black suede ankle boots to complete the ensemble. They didn't bother my feet or anything, obviously, but I'd never worn them in my human life. I was born in the age of poodle skirts and white tennis shoes. And I also didn't like the extra looks I got from boys (and occassionally girls) when I wore the sexy shoes. They would look anyway, because of the tight skirt and sweater, but it seemed that the heels sealed the deal, and made every boy on campus turn his head. Unlike Rosalie and Alice, I didn't care for the attention. Again, probably just a product of my bitter loneliness, but I disliked it nonetheless. I decided to chance a battle with Alice, and put on some red ballet flats instead.

I pulled my hair back loosely, and grabbed my bookbag, heading down the stairs, prepared to fight with Alice over my shoes. My brothers and sisters were already in the silver Volvo, waiting for me. Apparently my activities had me running a few minutes late. I climbed into the back seat, next to Jasper and Alice, and gave an apologetic look to the group when Emmett asked, "What the hell took you so long, Bella?" He whipped out of the garage, and spun around, facing the mouth of the driveway, all in a matter of a half second. We were on the road in another half second, driving just a little faster than our typical excessive speed, I'm sure because of my tardiness.

Emmett was tall, and muscular, with cropped black hair. The biggest vampire I've ever seen, and if a vampire could be a jock, then that was the perfect way to describe him. His partner, and my sister, Rosalie, was the most beautiful thing in the world. She was blonde, and voloptuous, and no supermodel could rival her beauty for even a second. She'd probably be head cheerleader to Emmett's jock status, in an ideal world. They were the perfect couple, beauty and all.

Alice sat beside me, squished between Jasper and I. She was a tiny thing, and also beautiful beyond all measure. She had short, spikey black hair, and huge doe eyes, colored a light gold like the rest of us. And her mate, Jasper, sat beside her with his light blonde hair, and tiny frame. He wasn't nearly as small as Alice, but he was significantly shorter and leaner than Emmett. And then there was me. I had long brown hair with soft curls kissing the ends, and a relatively lean figure. I wasn't petite like Alice, or curvy like Rosalie. I suppose I looked the most ordinary next to my sisters... the most human.

It was silent for a moment, until Alice glanced at my feet, and wrinkled up her little nose at me. "Bella, those boots are Gucci! They'll be so sad if they aren't worn!"

"You wear them, then," I retorted.

"I can't, you have giant clown feet." I narrowed my eyes at her.

"No, I wear a size 8. That's normal. It's not my fault that you have pixie feet." That earned me a glare of her own. Emmett and Jasper chuckled. Alice hated being called a pixie, but she was so tiny that it's really the first thing that pops to mind when you look at her. She was sensitive about her shoe size, because many of the stores didn't care a size 4 1/2 shoe, and she couldn't get all of her favorite designer shoes because of it. So she tried to live vicariously through my feet, constantly buying me shoes that cost at least $500 a pair. I didn't know why she was so upset about it. She still got herself some very expensive, and beautiful, custom made shoes, and she had tons of them. But she loved having the designer tags on them, and for some reason, it stung her a little to not be able to have the name to back up their price. She huffed and folded her arms, looking away from me. I snickered a little, and stared at the blurring trees as we drove through the forest that is Forks, Washington. Rosalie broke me out of my daze after a few moments.

"So, Bella, why'd you take off last night?" I'm sure Alice had seen me running to L.A., and told our family. You couldn't keep anything to yourself with her around, and although I was used to it, I still hated it sometimes. And right now, I hated it, because I didn't feel like talking about why I ran off. My family knew I was a stress runner, and that when I ran, _something_ was wrong.

"I was terribly bored." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth. I mainly took off to try and escape the lonesome feeling that was creeping it's way into my body.

"We would've done something with you, if you were so bored," Emmett offered.

I didn't really care to picture Rosalie and Emmett last night, and I surely didn't want to interrupt them when they got carnal. It was like the most graphic porn film you could think of, but ten times worse. I'd made that mistake once before, and had I been a human, I surely would have been vomitting for at least an hour. "I didn't really feel like having company anyway, but thanks." Again, not a complete lie. I definitely felt like company, but not really from my family members. I always felt like a third wheel, or a seventh wheel, around them. And I didn't want to feel like that last night.

We arrived at the school just a few seconds later, and to no surprise, we were right on time. Alice's face flashed as she saw a vision while Emmett parked the car. Jasper placed his hand on Alice's arm and waited for her to come out of her trance. She blinked about 5 seconds later, and looked at him. "We have a new student." She smiled. Alice loved new students, new humans. And with us being in such a tiny little town, it was extra special for her. She'd already studied all the current students, and she loved having a new subject. I'm not sure why, and I don't even think Alice is either, but she was somewhat obsessed with humans. She wished they found her less intimidating so she could have some human friends, but none of them were ever brave enough to approach her, or return any of her advances at friendship. Little did they know, it wasn't intimidation that kept them away, but instinct. They should fear us, and they did. So she would study them from a distance.

No one was nearly as excited as Alice was about the new student. Jasper gave her a little smile, and got out of the car, clearly uninterested. The rest of us followed suit, and Alice was last out. "Nobody cares about this kid at all?"

"No. I don't see what the big deal is, they're all the same. And they're all boring," Emmett said, walking towards his homeroom building, wrapping his right arm around Rosalie. Jasper came around his side of the car, and grabbed Alice's hand, as we began walking to the building where the juniors had homeroom. Alice pouted when no one took interest, and Jasper sighed. Wuss. Always catering to her every whim.

"Tell me about him, darling," Jasper said in his slight Southern drawl. Her face lit up again.

"His name is Edward." The name caught my attention slightly, as I walked behind Alice and Jasper to homeroom. Edward isn't a name you hear in association with teenagers now-a-days. "He's a junior. He's from Chicago. He's in homeroom with you, Jasper. And he's in Biology with you, Bella. He'll be your lab partner." I winced a little. I enjoyed having the lab table to myself in Biology.

We reached the building and Jasper gave Alice was small, sweet kiss when we parted ways for homeroom. Alice and I had homeroom together because we shared our last names (for all intentive purposes). We entered the room, and she continued talking, so low the students could never hear her, and we took our seats. "He's handsome. Not like these boys. He's got very classical features. He looks... English maybe." And she began her studies. She was very good at telling what kind of descent a person had, and it was a major part of her interest in humans. She broke down everything when she met a new person in Forks. It was easier when we were in a bigger city. She never carried on so much, because she had so many more people she could observe. She continued talking about his possible descent and his looks and I tuned her out, focusing on the rainy weather outside and thinking of the new boredom that school brought. It seemed like I couldn't escape that boredom for anything.

My first 4 classes all blurred together, uninterestingly, and I made my way across the wet campus to the cafeteria. My siblings were already seated with their prop lunches in front of them, smiling and laughing. Was it like this every day? It felt like they were mocking me and my loneliness. I let out a sigh, and went to stand in line for some disgusting food that wouldn't be eaten. I stood behind Jessica Stanley, and who I was assuming was the new student. She was talking his ear off, and laughing at everything she said, touching his arm after the end of each sentence. She was so obvious, throwing herself at him. I quietly snickered to myself a little. I didn't want to listen to Jessica and her prattling, so I zoned her out, and looked back at my lunch table. Stupid bitterness. I hated this feeling, and it felt worse everytime I crawled down into this hole of despair that I dug for myself. I inhaled deeply, and it felt like someone hit me in the stomach with a bag full of bricks. I let out a sputtered cough, and it sounded like I was drowning. I threw my hand up over my nose and mouth. Jessica and friend turned to look at my spasm and I saw him for the first time. He _was_ handsome. That was an understatement actually. Beautiful was more like it. He was exquisite, and it surprised me, because even with all the vampires I've seen, with their immortal beauty, he still could have taken my breath away.

He did take my breath away. But in a very different way. The feeling, like I had just swallowed fire, was his fault. I took another small breath through my nose to make certain the scent came from him, and sure enough it did. It would have had my eyes watering if they were able. I swore for a second that they would. This was the worst thirst I had ever experienced, even in my first hours of being a vampire, and all I could think of was the burning. I had to get away from this boy now, or I would surely pounce on him and kill him in a millisecond. I walked as quickly as I could, trying not to attract attention to myself, and pushed the cafeteria door away with so much might, it slammed into the brick wall on the outside of the building. _That_ probably attracted attention, but I couldn't care enough. I just kept walking, sprinting away from this boy who was unraveling me. I needed to breathe clean air, to try and talk myself out of running back there right now and brutally murdering him. I wouldn't let the demon I carried with me be satiated by human blood. Our family didn't do that. We didn't want to be murderers, and we drank the blood of animals to try and have some sense of dignity and reason to our lives. No matter how badly I wanted to kill this boy, I had to keep control. I had to find some way. I owed it to my family, and to myself. I had never killed a human, and I prided myself on this. This _child_ would not undo my decades of pride and control. I wouldn't let him.

... But _God_, what I wouldn't give to be a normal, evil, bloodsucking vampire in that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

After I was a safe distance away from the school, I took off running. I had to get myself as far away as possible from that place, from him and his delicious scent. I stopped after I was about 10 miles outside of Forks, and sat on a mossy rock in the wet forest surrounding me. I placed my head in my hands and focused intently on the clovers below my bare feet. Both of my shoes had fallen off after I had started running, but I had only just noticed. I concentrated hard on my surroundings to try and take my mind off of what had just happened. It seemed like so long ago, although less than 15 minutes had passed. It was impossible, right? I was imagining that a human's scent could bring me to my knees with one breath. The more I thought about it, and the more the clear air filled my lungs, the more I figured I was overreacting. It wasn't feasible for him to wipe out my self-control so quickly. I had the most amazing self-control, Carlisle had even said himself. I was able to be around humans and control myself just days after my transformation. It was something other vampires weren't able to do for months, and very often years. But I was some kind of exception to that rule, and this boy's blood was messing with my exceptional control.

I'd give it a day. I'll hunt again tonight, and go back to school tomorrow. I _must_ be overreacting. Maybe I just hadn't realized how thirsty I was...

* * *

I was incredibly nervous on our drive to school that morning. I really didn't want there to be a massacre, especially if I was the cause of it, and I was praying that I could make it through the day with my self-control intact. I tried to reassure myself all night. I told myself I was definitely overreacting, that's all. I had trouble believing it, though. Guess I'd have to wait and see.

My first 4 classes were incredibly slow, and I couldn't wait to get to lunch for my little experiment. I practically sprinted to the cafeteria. When I arrived, I spotted my siblings and gave them a small nod. They had seen me leave yesterday, and Alice had explained to them what happened. Rosalie, Emmett and Jasper all thought it stupid to test fate this way, and risk killing the new boy and giving our secret away. But Alice seemed very sure that I wouldn't hurt him. I tried to put my faith in that, but even with her reassurances, I was still nervous. And I still didn't want to be in so much pain, even if I did have enough self-control to keep from sucking all of his blood from his veins.

Jessica Stanely and the new boy were standing in the lunch line again, at the end, just like yesterday. Although today they were joined by Mike Newton, who looked at Jessica longingly. Alice found crushes amongst the student body particularly fascinating (I suppose they were like soap operas to her), and she paid special attention to how Mike had wanted Jessica. Apparently, Jessica used to flirt back mildly, until the new boy came to town. I'd never noticed, myself. I went to pass by them and prepared myself for the burn again as I took a deep breath. I definitely wasn't overreacting. His scent hit me like a freight train, and I let out another sputtered cough. My hand instinctively went back up to my mouth and nose, and I quickly walked away from them again. I decided not to run away like yesterday, but I headed for the bathroom instead. I would not bolt. I had to face this head on. I was happy to find the girls' room empty when I came in. I closed the door and locked it behind me, grabbing onto one of the three sinks for support, and glancing at myself in the mirror. I looked like something out of a horror movie. My teeth were clenched together and my jaw was set hard. My eyes were pitch black, giving an indication to the thirst I felt. Turns out hunting last night hadn't helped at all. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe, but found that his scent still tingled in my nose and burned my throat. How was I supposed to handle this? I could leave Forks. I could run away like the coward I was... No. I was here first. It might have been stubborn, and I was probably acting like a two year old, but I didn't want this boy to force me out of my home, away from my family. So I decided to risk his life, and our secret. I would stay. I would try to get used to the scent, and to the burning. I hadn't realized how hard I was gripping the sink until a small chunk of porcelein broke off from the corner and was reduced to white dust in my clenched fist. I blew the dust from my hand, wiping the residue off on a paper towel, and headed back out into the lunch room. There were a few girls waiting outside the door, and a janitor coming towards us with keys in hand. I paid no attention to them and just slid past them, ignoring their confused glares.

I saw the boy sitting at a lunch table with Jessica, Mike and a few others from the junior class. He was staring at me. I shot him a glare, unintentionally, and he quickly looked away. He should just be happy he's still alive, and take the glares as they come. I walked back to my table and slumped into a chair next to Alice, looking down at the table top and grabbing a handful of hair into each of my fists. Alice broke the silence first. "What are you going to do about Biology?" I groaned loudly and yanked my hair even tighter. I wished I could cry in that moment, so I could relieve some of the built up pressure and stress.

"Damn it... I completely forgot I have Biology with him." I was so crazed over the last two days that it slipped my mind. I could handle being in the same lunchroom with him; he sat on the other side and his scent was much less noticeable with the distance between us, though still permeating. But to have to be confined in a small classroom, sitting right next to him no less. I was sure I couldn't handle it, but I wanted to try anyway. I would try. Alice's face flashed for a brief second and I set my mind on going to next period, and she looked aprehensive.

"Are you sure it's wise?" Of course I wasn't, but I was still in my stubborn toddler mindset.

"I can handle it." Blatant lie. I'm sure she saw through it. I wasn't very good at lying to my family, and definitely not to Alice. I glanced around at my other siblings, and they all looked unsure as well. Rosalie looked pissed.

"Why are you pushing yourself like this? It will only end badly," she complained. She was probably right, but I had dug my heels in for this one. I would not cave.

"She's right, Bell. This isn't exactly the best way to test your self-control," Emmett chimed in.

"You're always telling me not to push myself too far, maybe you should take your own advice..." Jasper was also doubtful. He understood the most of my problems with this boy. He was the newest one to take on our special diet. He was right, I was always telling him that, but I was still determined. I scoffed at them.

"I can _handle_ it," I repeated through clenched teeth, placing emphasis on each word.

"I don't want to move again, Bella! Emmett and I are finally seniors this year, and I want to stay put!" Rosalie was determined herself.

"We aren't going to have to move, because I can handle it, okay? How many times do I have to repeat myself? I won't kill him. I have more self-control than any of you ever did," I snappd back at them. The room was beginning to empty, and I stood up before the rest of them did, glaring at them all. It didn't help my stress or my self-confidance that my family had so little faith in me. I still wanted to try, though. It was just one hour. I had to know if I could endure it, or if I had to make other plans. I paused in front of the Science building. I knit my brows together. _It's now or never, _I thought to myself. I slowly crept through the entrance, and walked towards the classroom that held my fate.

* * *

**A/N: **This chapter is pretty short, but I wanted to hold off on the first meeting, so I ended it here. Thanks for the reviews, everyone! I'll try and update as much as possible.


	3. Chapter 3

I walked up to the door outside of my 6th period Biology class, and paused. I was beginning to have second thoughts, and my stubborness was losing it's resolve. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal when I was arguing with my family about it, but now that I allowed myself to stop being so pig-headed, I realized that this could end badly. Very, very badly. I focued nervously on the door handle, and ran my fingers up and down the strap of my bookbag. I heard someone clear their throat behind me, and I turned. A few students were trying to make their way past me, into the room. I stepped aside to let them by, glancing a peek at my table, when they opened the door, to see if the new boy was sitting where my lab partner should have been. I was praying that just once Alice's visions were wrong, and he wasn't my partner. Maybe if I at least didn't have to sit a foot away from him, then it wouldn't be _so_ bad. I knew Alice's vision wouldn't be wrong. I was the only one in the classroom who didn't have a lab partner. I let my eyes wander to my assigned seat, and sure enough, there he was, writing something in his notebook. I felt a surge of panic. I was becoming far less confident with the moment at hand. I allowed myself a mini-freak out while I leaned against the wall beside the door, cursing and running my fingers through my hair and breathing rapidly. Then I set my jaw and put on my stubborn face again. _I can do this_. I took a big, deep breath, preparing myself not to breathe for an hour, but it turned out his scent was still very potent out in the hallway. I cringed. It was better to take this small dose now, rather than breathe him in when he was so close to me. I composed myself, and opened the door, breezing through as Mr. Banner gave me a small glare. I didn't know why I was receiving this glare until I looked up at the clock and realized that my trepidation outside of the classroom had made me late.

"Ms. Cullen, you do realize that class started 6 minutes ago?" the teacher asked. I took my seat, trying with everything in me not to look at the boy sitting next to me, and to keep from breathing. I shrugged and gave a quiet apology, trying to keep as much breath in my lungs as possible. I sat there, unmoving, and attempted to focus on Mr. Banner and what he was writing on the board. It didn't work. I turned my focus on the sound of the rain hitting the roof of the Science building. It seemed to make my anxiety worse somehow. I tried desperately to find something to focus on. I closed my eyes and tried to think of a song, or a book, or a movie. I was failing, horribly. I allowed myself to glimpse at the boy sitting next to me and realized that he had been staring at me. He quickly looked away, embarrassed.I forgot for a second that I was trying with all my might not to kill this boy, and I chuckled in my head. I let my hair fall around my face so I could look at him again without him knowing. I kept seeing his eyes move back and forth, between the chalkboard and me. I smirked a little. I don't know why I found it so entertaining. I caught people looking at me all the time. I had never found it amusing. In fact, I found it extremely annoying, but it didn't annoy me with this boy. I thought it was... cute? Was that the right word? I inwardly slapped myself, and forced my eyes away from his face and looked at the black countertop. I realized that staring at this boy had taken my mind off of my thirst. I didn't see how this was possible. Yesterday, I had run 10 miles away from this boy and still couldn't get my mind off it. Earlier in the cafeteria, I broke the sink in the girls' bathroom trying to think about anything else. But right here, I sat next to him, and it became an afterthought. I was becoming more and more confident that I could make it through the hour without killing him... so long as I didn't breathe. I continued staring at him through my hair for the rest of the period, and smirked everytime I caught him looking at me.

When the bell rang, I was both relieved and disappointed. Relieved because I had made it through the hour without having to kill anyone, and also because I could breathe again. I didn't know why I was disappointed. I wanted to look at and study him some more. I wanted to be angry with myself for being so curious of him, but I couldn't concentrate enough on my anger to keep it. I made my way across the campus to the gymnasium, for my 7th and final class of the day. I was studying his face in my mind all throughout gym class. Alice was right, he was handsome, and he did have very classic features. He wasn't like the boys at Forks High School at all. I had seemed to be daydreaming a little, because when I finally directed my attention to my surroundings, I noticed that most of the students had already made their way to the locker rooms. I shook myself out of my trance, and jogged off to change into my regular clothes. I couldn't stop thinking about him, and it wasn't even his scent that had me so fascinated. I found myself completely forgetting about how wonderful he smelled to me while I thought about last period. I was utterly intrigued by this boy. I had to know more. I decided to talk to him tomorrow in Biology. I exited the gym, and began walking to the parking lot, still thinking about him. I tried to consider what questions to ask. I thought about how ridiculous I was being. I hadn't even heard the boy speak before, and I was so captivated by him. He was probably just shallow and vapid like every other teenage boy, but I was still absolutely absorbed in the thought of having a discussion with him. I made it to the car, and got into the back, his face still clouding my mind. I saw Alice looking at me in my peripheral vision, and I glanced back. She looked confused, but she had a small smile on her face. I looked around at the rest of my family to noticed that Alice wasn't the only one looking. I was perplexed at the looks I was getting. Alice was the only one who smiled. The rest of them were staring at me like I had two heads. "What?" I finally asked, agitated.

"How'd it go?" Rosalie asked. I wasn't sure what she was asking about. I was still in my own little world. I didn't give myself a chance to think about her question, so I was still agitated and confused.

"How did _what_ go?" I was slowly coming out of my little bubble of daydreams.

"Biology!" Everyone but Alice said the word at the same time, obviously frustrated by my slowness. Now I understood.

"Fine," I answered, nonchalantly.

"_Fine?"_ Emmett repeated, in disbelief. "When we left you at lunch, you were in a frenzy over it. Now you're _fine_?"

"Bella, what happened?" Jasper asked. My family was growing tired of my vague explanations.

"Nothing. Really, nothing happened. I was fine. The boy is fine. I didn't kill anyone. I held my breath," I answered. They were all still staring at me, bewildered. Except for Alice, of course, who started giggling. "What's so funny?"

"You," she answered. Emmett and Rosalie turned back around to face frontwards, Rosalie rolling her eyes, and Emmett backed out and began driving towards home.

"How am I funny?" I asked.

"You like him," she responded. I scoffed and shook my head.

"No," I retorted, my voice jumping up an octave. I sounded very unconvincing. She giggled again, and I turned my attention away from her, looking out the window. I was annoyed. I didn't like him. I was curious of him, I was fascinated by him. I thought he was beautiful. But I didn't like him. I didn't even know him. I clenched my teeth together, more annoyed that I sounded even less convincing in my thoughts. I looked over at Alice a few times during the ride home, and she just smirked at me, holding back laughter. I huffed and turned away from her. I was not happy with her assumptions. I stormed out of the car and sped up to my room, slamming the door, and locking it. As if locking it would do _anything_. She could pick the lock in a second, and kick down the door even faster than that. But I didn't lock it because I knew it would keep her out. I locked it as a statement, so she'd know that she should back off. I paced around my room and ran my fingers through my hair. I was starting to get pissed off. I kept telling myself I didn't like him, but the more I told myself, the more unbelievable it sounded. I kicked the wall. Not hard, or I would leave a hole, but enough to take out a little frustration on it. I really hated that Alice was always right. Just once, couldn't she be wrong? I heard a timid knock at my door. "Go away!" I yelled, assuming it was Alice.

"It's me," I heard Esme answer. I sighed, and went to open the door for her. I didn't want company, but I couldn't turn Esme away.

She was my adoptive mother, and Carlisle's wife. She had a delicate heart-shaped face, and long caramel-colored hair. She had a sympathetic look in her eyes as she stood in my doorway. I forced a smile. "What can I do for you, Esme?"

She entered my room and took a seat on my couch, softly patting the free space next to her, signaling for me to take a seat. I did as she wanted, and sat next to her. I looked down at the floor, not making eye contact with her. "So... Alice tells me you have a crush on a human?" She smiled a little and I continued to look at the floor.

"Well, if Alice says it, it must be true." I didn't want to say the words. I didn't want to admit it could be true.

"You know, crushes don't go away for us," she told me, and I nodded. "The feelings are only going to get stronger for you." I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. She was right, and that's why I tried to keep from admitting any kind of feelings to myself. Once I admitted that I did like him, I'd be done. It wouldn't just remain a crush, or a fascination. I would fall for him, fast and hard. These feelings weren't a fleeting thing for our kind, and I would feel this way forever. I really didn't want it to be true, but I knew that I was getting weaker. I couldn't lie to myself forever. But still, I didn't even know this boy. I didn't want to admit that I was already developing these feelings.

"Maybe I should leave..." I replied in a whisper, wringing my hands and still keeping my eyes on the floor. She put one arm around my shoulder.

"If you think that's best, Bella. It's your decision..." I leaned into her embrace, and she gave me one more tight squeeze before she got up. She looked at me from the doorway and gave me a small, sad smile. She closed the door behind her, and I let my head fall into my hands. It would break her heart to see me leave. She loved all of us so much, and she loved it when we were all together. But I couldn't even comprehend what it would mean if I did fall for this boy. I just knew it was very bad. I hadn't realized I'd been holding my breath, and I let the air out in a quick burst. This boy was ruining my life, and we hadn't even spoken yet...

* * *

**A/N: **Alright, so it's taking me forever for their first technical meeting. I really thought I would have it in this chapter, but I wanted to get Bella's feelings out there, and I have a feeling that their meeting and the start of their relationship will be long, so I cut it off here. I'm evil, what can I say? I promise, next chapter they will meet.

Thanks for the reviews, people! I'm glad you're all enjoying it!


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I'm sorry it took so long for an update. This chapter made me anxious, and I was procrastinating finishing it. It's really long. I hope you enjoy!

I was all kinds of emotions the next day, as the clock ticked closer to 1:15 PM, when my Biology class took place. I was nervous and scared, and excited. Heck, you could even say I was a little giddy. I was also angry at myself, though, for feeling this way. I had absolutely no idea how this was all going to work out, or if I would even enjoy talking to him, or if he would want to talk to me. I didn't know if I would like him. A big part of me hoped he was a jackass. Then I wouldn't be so intrigued, and this whole thing would just pass. However, a small part of me (the teenage girl inside of me that would never grow up) was hoping for the exact opposite. It'd been so long since I was interested in a boy, and certainly not in the entire time I'd been a vampire. It was like second grade all over again, when I had my first crush ever on Tommy Watkins. I tried to beat down the teenage girl, and remind myself that I was 70 years old. I was above this. I was more mature than this. But I couldn't keep the feelings away for more than a couple of minutes.

School was _slow_. I didn't know five hours could be so slow, and it felt like five years to me. I was happy when lunch came, because I could stand behind him in line again. I held my breath, and studied his face as he listened to Jessica Stanely yammer on about the homecoming dance that was coming up that weekend. She was desperately hinting at him going to the dance with her. He didn't take the bait, though, and when she looked away, he rolled his eyes. And he rolled his eyes toward me, catching a glimpse of me out of the corner of his eye, and turned his head slightly to get a better look. I didn't break my gaze from his face as we made eye contact for two seconds. He smiled slightly, and turned back to Jessica. I almost shivered when he looked at me. I wanted to be disgusted with myself, but couldn't focus long enough to channel my self-hatred. I just stood in line and studied him... his face, his dark bronze hair, his green eyes, his hands... I was trapped in a daze for a few moments before the students behind me broke it, signaling to me that the lunch line was moving. I shook off the trance and moved forward, forgetting for just a second that I was holding my breath. I mistakenly inhaled, and every muscle in my body stiffened. I darted from the line, and ran to the bathroom again. I repeated what I had done yesterday, making sure all the stalls were empty, and locked the door. I clenched onto the same sink I had broken, taking notice of the sharpened corner where I had ripped a small piece off.

It was like I was being slapped in the face, and brought back to reality. I must be crazy to allow myself to feel anything for this boy. It was stupid. Everytime I inhaled around him, I would suffer this pain in my throat. I again considered the possibility of leaving Forks, before I was in too deep with the new boy. I'm not sure how long I stood there, contemplating it, before I decided to at least go to Biology today before I made any decisions. The cafeteria was practically empty, though, by the time I came out. I looked at the giant clock on the Southern wall of the room and realized I had less than a minute to get to class. I sprinted out of the cafeteria, and towards the Science building. I hated having to use my human speed. I would have been to the class already if I wasn't putting up a front for the students around me.

I made it in time, taking a big breath before I entered the classroom, and the bell rang as I walked through the door. I glanced over at Mr. Banner, who was sitting at his desk and reading through some papers. It appeared that I had a couple minutes before he started class, and I fought the urge to smile. I would have a chance to at least introduce myself to the new boy. I tried to look particularly cheery as I strolled over to my seat, thinking that I had probably scared him over the past couple of days with my death glares. "Hi," I said in a pleasant tone, taking my seat and setting my bookbag on the ground beside me. He looked up at me, with what seemed to be confusion in his eyes, before his face went blank. "I'm Bella," I informed him with a small smile. He just stared at me for a moment before he responded.

"Edward," he answered. I had known his name, but was so used to referring to him as the "new boy" in my head that it was odd to hear him acknowledged by name.

"Edward," I repeated, nodding. "So you're new to town?" It was a stupid question, but I didn't know how to break the ice. I very rarely addressed anybody but my family members, and I had to relearn the art of conversation with strangers. He let out some kind of combination of a scoff and a chuckle. It agitated me a little. Maybe he was a jackass. "Is that funny?"

He shook his head. "No, I just..." He paused to find his words. "I guess I'm a little surprised you're speaking to me. You didn't seem so thrilled about having me as your lab partner."

"Well, I wasn't so thrilled at first, no," I admitted. "But it's not you. I didn't really want anyone as a lab partner. I like to work by myself. You are my lab partner now, however, and I've to make the best of it. So I'm sorry if I seemed rude before, but I'm trying to start new here..." He chuckled lightly again. I didn't see what was so funny about the whole thing.

"Alright, sounds good," he replied. "Yes, I'm new in town. I just moved here from Chicago." I just nodded, because it looked like Mr. Banner was about to start class, and also because I had used up all my breath on my little speech. It probably wasn't a good idea to take another breath so close to him, considering I couldn't run away this time. I turned my attention to the chalkboard as the teacher began writing an assignment on the board. He was giving us a group assignment, and we were to be paired up with our lab partners. My face fell a little. It was a research paper on gene theory and was due in one week. And we would have to work on it outside of school. I felt a little panicked.

"So today is a research day," Mr. Banner explained to the class. "You can discuss amongst yourselves, and begin working on your notes for your papers." He took his seat at his desk and began filing through his papers again. I began feeling more panicked when I realized that Edward and I would have to talk some more, and I was all out of breath. I hadn't thought of this before, when I was so excited about talking to him and learning more about him. Now I didn't know what to do. I'd have to take a breath, and I was hoping my self-control could handle it. I closed my eyes and gulped in a large amount of air, letting the taste burn my throat. I took a moment to compose myself, and decided I would be alright to continue conversing with him.

I turned slightly to face him again. "So, Chicago... windy." I wanted to beat my head against the wall. I was so bad at this. He nodded once, and turned his attention to his notebook.

"So how do you want to do this paper?" he asked. He looked back to me again, and I stared into his eyes.

"Well, I already have all the notes and information to do the paper. The only thing that needs done is organizing it, and typing it out," I told him.

"How do you have all the information already?"

"I've taken this class before. I moved here from Alaska a year ago, and we took advanced placement courses at our old school," I explained.

He nodded again. "Well, I guess we should get together then, to write the paper. We could do it after school."

I felt more anxiety creep through my body. "Today?" I asked.

"Sure, unless you have plans. We could do it at my house, if you'd like," he offered. I didn't even know how to respond. I was having trouble being around him at school, but to be in his home, where his scent would be even more potent... alone... with no witnesses. I wasn't sure if I could trust myself with that.

"No... today would be fine. What's your address?" I was still very unsure of myself, but I _wanted_ to go to his house. I wanted to know him, and I wanted him to know me. I wasn't the idiot that I was appearing to be today, and I wanted to prove it to him. So I handed him a piece of paper and he wrote down his address. I folded the paper and placed it in the pocket of my jeans. We sat in an uncomfortable silence for the remainder of the period, him scribbling in his notebook and me staring at my hands.

* * *

I stood outside of his home and stared up at it. It looked so big to me, so ominous. I looked around the yard. I don't know what for. I was probably just delaying going in. I'm not sure how much time passed before I dragged myself to the door, and rang the bell. I was tapping rapidly on the binder I was carrying. I could smell him already, even standing outside in the rain. I heard the television inside, and Edward telling someone that he would get the door. I heard his footsteps, and counted them. It took him 11 steps to get to the door. He opened it, and gave me a forced smile, waving his arm and telling me to come in. I cautiously walked inside and took in my surroundings. It was a modest home, with furniture that looked like it was from the 80s. Edward's father was sitting on the couch, facing away from us and watching TV. He shot us a glance over his arm and smiled at me. From what I could see of him, he was a larger man, with long legs that were propped on the coffee table. He had dark hair and brown eyes. "This is Bella. Bella, this is my father," Edward introduced us awkwardly. He waved, and turned his attention back to the TV.

"Good to meet you, Bella," he replied, completely uninterested. His mother entered the living room then. She was of medium build, and had ash blonde hair and the same green eyes that Edward had. She dried her hands off on the apron she wore around her waist as she crossed the room towards us. She extended a hand to me.

"Bella? It's nice to meet you. I'm Liz." I took her hand cautiously, and shook it. I felt her flinch a little at the temperature of my skin, but she let my hand go and returned to the kitchen. "Would you like something to eat? We just finished with dinner, and there's plenty left."

"No, thank you for offering," I responded in the sweetest voice I could muster. She smiled at us, and walked back into the kitchen.

I looked up at Edward, and he signaled for me to follow him up the stairs. I did, and we arrived at his room. It was bigger than I thought it would be, considering that the house wasn't very large. It was a slightly disorganized. There was a pile of clothes by the door to the bathroom, and unpacked boxes scattered across the room. I took a seat in the wooden chair by his computer desk, and he plopped down on his bed. I decided that I should begin breathing normally around him, to attempt getting used to it. I inhaled and exhaled multiple times, letting the appetizing taste of it scorch my throat. After a few breaths, it began to lose it's potency, and I could focus again. Maybe it just took some getting used to.

I broke the awkward silence first. "Your parents seem nice." He just nodded. I was fairly certain this boy didn't like me. He only spoke to me when it was necessary. I looked around his room and noticed a large collection of music on a bookcase. There was probably at least 300 CDs on it, and some records. "That's a pretty big collection you have there," I said, pointing towards the music. He looked to where my finger was pointing and turned back to me, nodding again. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Go ahead," he responded, in a bored voice. I walked over to the case and ran my fingers over the CDs, reading the titles and the artists. He had a lot of variety here. He had some jazz, and some blues. He had a lot of classic rock, and some more modern alternative rock. I was surprised how many records he had, and looked down to see a record player next to the bookcase. I slid my fingers over it, and flipped the switch on, placing the needle on the record that was already on the player. It scratched a little, and then began playing something familiar. I smiled when I realized what it was, and looked over to where Edward sat on his bed. He almost looked embarrassed as the opera music played in the background. "My mother used to take me to a lot of operas back home," he began explaining without my asking. "Puccini's my favorite," he shrugged. I smiled again.

"_La Bohème_ is great. _Aida_ is my favorite though," I said. He looked a little stunned, but his face quickly fell back to the vacant expression it held before.

"I haven't seen _Aida_. My mother dragged me to the God-awful Elton John version of it though, when it was on tour a few years back. I hated it," he told me. I smirked. "My mom's into all kinds of theatre, but I don't care for musicals. I just like opera," he continued.

"Well, you have a pretty eclectic taste in music. I haven't seen too many 17-year-old boys who love Puccini _and_ Queen," I said. He smiled, and I had to fight to regain my focus again.

"My mom's been taking me to operas since I was 9. It was kind of a bonding experience. We don't have a lot in common, but that was one thing we did," he reminisced. "She was always trying to culture me, turn me into a little gentleman. She made me take music lessons, and took me to every show that came to the city. Opera was the only thing that stuck though. I think she's just glad at least one thing did."

"What kind of music lessons did you take?" I was glad he was finally opening up a little bit. I was so curious about him, I thought I would burst from the frustration of not knowing.

"I took singing, piano and violin. I hated the lessons, and I begged her to let me stop. She told me I had to keep one, though. I really hated the singing and violin lessons the most, so I kept the piano lessons. I'm kind of glad I did, in the long run. I like the piano," he explained to me. I smiled at him. He played the piano. I loved the piano.

"Do you play anything else?"

"Yeah, I play the guitar," he laughed a little. "I'm a teenage boy, so I have to play the guitar, right?" I chuckled. The atmosphere was becoming much more comfortable and tolerable. "So how'd you get into opera?" I was slightly taken aback. I didn't expect him to ask any questions about me. I didn't think he liked me at all. I recalled the memories from my childhood, and began to tell him.

"My grand-parents were from Italy. They moved to New York right after they got married. My grandfather was an opera singer. No one professional, but he did a lot of amateur productions. I'd go up to New York City every summer and stay with them. We'd go to a different opera every week, sometimes the ones my grandfather was in, and sometimes some professional ones. I loved it. My grandfather played the King of Egypt in a production of _Aida_ one year, and I was hooked on it after that. I'm a sucker for star-crossed love stories." It had been a while since I had thought of my wonderful summers with my grandparents in the city. It made me a little sad to think of it now, but they were happy memories.

"Jessica Stanley told me you were adopted," he stated, bringing me back to the present. I nodded, and was happy that he had asked her about me. "What happened to your parents?" A sad expression must have crossed my face, because immediately after, he told me, "You don't have to tell me."

I shook my head. "No, I'll tell you." I inhaled again, and noticed how much easier it was getting. I waited a few seconds before I continued. It'd be so long since I told anyone about my parents' death. I never told any humans, either. They never asked, they were all too afraid of me and my family. "It was so long ago," I began. "I used to live in Phoenix. My parents, my little sister and I had just gone out to dinner, and we were driving home. It all happened so fast. Someone in another car hit us head on. My parents were killed instantly." He gave me a sympathetic frown, and I smiled sadly back at him.

"How old were you?" he asked.

"10," I lied. I wasn't 10. I was 17, the same age I was now, and the same age I would be forever.

"What happened to your sister?"

"She died too," I sighed. Another lie. She had a broken collarbone, but she lived. She was still alive actually. I didn't like to think of my sister, though. It depressed me. "We should probably get to work on this paper, huh?" I changed the subject. He nodded, and we began compiling the information and writing out a rough draft.

After about an hour passed, and the paper was almost complete, I began getting frustratingly curious again. "So are you involved with Jessica?" I asked, with very little subtlety. "It seems everytime I see the two of you together, she's practically hanging off of you." I tried to hide the bitterness in my voice. He chuckled.

"No, I'm not involved with Jessica. She's just desperately trying to get me to go to Homecoming with her."

"You're not going to the dance with her, then?"

"I'm not going at all," he replied, with a touch of acidity in his words. "I hate dances. It's bad music with bad dancing, in a hot and crowded gymnasium. Girls spend $200 on a dress they're going to wear once, and guys make themselves look like idiots in the hopes that they might get lucky at the end of the night. The entire thing disgusts me. I went to one dance in middle school, and that was enough to last me a lifetime." I laughed. I shared his disdain for school dances. "Are you going?" he asked.

"I don't want to," I answered. "I hate school dances too, but my sister usually forces me to. She loves any excuse to get dressed up, and she makes my entire family go. I always try and get out of it, but it never works." He smiled at me, and turned back to his computer, typing some more of the paper out.

After about two minutes, he yelled out "done!" I glanced at the screen, reading the words and was happy with our work. We had finished our entire paper, in just a little over an hour. It was a little longer than it usually took me, but considering I had a human partner, it was very fast work. He felt accomplished, and I felt sad. Our paper was done, and I had to leave now. We'd have no reason to talk again until our next Biology project. He saved the paper as I gathered up my papers and put them back in my binder. He walked me down the stairs, and I waved to his parents and yelled out a thank-you to them. His father was still on the couch, watching TV, and his mother was in the kitchen, writing something. They both hollered a distracted farewell to me, and Edward walked me out to my car. I was a little surprised he didn't just leave me at the bottom of the stairs. I was even more surprised when he walked around to open my car door for me. I smiled and said good-bye as I got into the driver's seat. He stood on his porch and watched as I drove off, still outside and looking after me until he was out of my sight. Maybe he did like me. Not in the way I had hoped, but perhaps we could be friends. It's a start...

* * *

That felt a lot longer to me than it was. I hope you liked it, I'm not sure how I felt about it. I wanted it to be more awkward at first than it was in Twilight, because this is Bella we're talking about. She's not quite as confidant or outgoing as Edward was. I hope it doesn't seem OOC.

In response to a review I got from someone about the specifics of my story... I was wondering what everyone else thought about that, if others think my story is a little too specific and descriptive. I kind of blame my old English teachers for that, because they always told me to write a story or paper as if no one had read what it was based on before, so I tried to write it after if it weren't based on Twilight, but as an individual story, and that's why I was being so specific. Wow, that sentence was confusing. But anyway, now that most of the characters have been introduced, I won't be so specific about appearances and whatnot, but if the readers don't enjoy that, or if I'm being too descriptive, please let me know. I know this story is very descriptive, but I figure it's in Bella's head, and when it takes place in someone's mind, it is descriptive. If you guys don't like that though, I can try to tone it down.

Thanks for the reviews though, I appreciate all of them! Keep them coming, and I'll try and update as much as possible.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Thanks for the reviews, folks. I really appreciate any and all feedback! Keep 'em coming!

I apologize in advance if there are a lot of grammatical/spelling errors in this chapter. I didn't proofread, considering it's 4:30 AM and I had trouble finishing it period. Haha, I had to spell check practically every word towards the end because I just couldn't remember.

* * *

The rest of the week continued in a relatively normal way. I was always excited for Biology to come, but tried to hide it around my family. None of them supported my 'crush' on Edward, except for Alice, and I didn't want to flaunt my feelings and have them angry at me.

Biology was never anything to get excited over, though. Edward and I exchanged amenities, but we didn't converse about anything with substance in class. I dreaded the coming weekend. The Homecoming dance took place Saturday night, and I begged Alice to let me stay home. She refused me, though, telling me that she had already bought me a dress, and we all had to go like we all always did. I knew from experience that she would have our brothers physically drag me to the car if I insisted on staying home, so I admitted defeat.

The dress she bought me was ridiculous, and I was sure it was too provocative for a school dance, but she squeezed me in it anyway. I grimaced at myself in the mirror. It was a dark purple dress, that was very tight around my chest and waist, and flowed out at the bottom. The hemline hit just above my knee, showing much more leg than I was comfortable with. I clenched my teeth, and turned to seethe at Alice who was packing up her make-up and hair supplies that she had just used on me. She shot me a cheeky smile. "I hate you," I told her, in a harsh tone, turning back to look in the mirror and grimace again. I hated getting dressed up. It just made me look like I was trying even harder to be a human, and it made me feel so inhuman.

"You love me," she said. Damn her and her cheekiness. "And you look amazing. And you _know_ you look amazing, so stop sulking. We're going to have fun!" She began to walk out the door as I continued to frown at my reflection, but she paused in the doorway. She kept her back to me, and stood absolutely still for a few moments. She turned around with a large grin. I didn't like that grin. It just oozed with smugness. "Don't worry, you'll have a playmate at the dance," she giggled at me, and turned back to skip out the door and prepare herself for tonight. I rolled my eyes, but her words began to sink in. A playmate? What did that mean? I didn't think much of it, because when I turned my attention back to the mirror again, I squinted in disgust and my mind was centered again on my reflected form.

* * *

We walked in through the doors of the school's gymnasium, and I could feel the frustration begin to course through my body already. This would be a long night...

Alice dragged Jasper out to the dance floor immediately, which didn't surprise me at all. She loved to dance, and she moved with more grace than anyone I'd ever seen. Even when she walked, her movements flowed more gracefully than a ballerina's. They began dancing in a style that didn't fit the hip-hop song that resounded from the speakers, yet they still managed to make their moves sway along with the loud bass in a fluid motion. Rosalie and Emmett were next, picking a more secluded spot to dance, over by the drink stand. They didn't try so hard with their dance. They just swayed back and forth, whispering to each other and laughing. I looked between the two couples that made up my siblings, and felt the bitter returning. I leaned against the wall, watching them for a few minutes, before I decided I couldn't take it anymore. I needed a break already. I decided to go outside for a couple of minutes and get some fresh air, but when I exited the building, I was slightly startled to see the small garden outside of the gym was occupied by someone else. I started to turn to go back inside when I noticed it was Edward. He was sitting on a small cement bench, looking up at the sky. I heard him exhale, and saw a little cloud of smoke float up above his head. I inhaled through my nose to see if my suspicions were correct. Cigarette smoke... and of course his unmistakable blood. I was a little surprised he was smoking, but more surprised that he was here. He'd basically told me he would never even come to a school dance when Hell had frozen over. I smiled a little, and decided to go and talk to him.

"That stuff will kill you, y'know?" I said in reference to the cigarette. He whipped his head around, and scoffed at me.

"Whatever," was his bored answer. I took a seat next to him on the bench, and looked him up and down. He was wearing black dress pants, a navy blue dress shirt, and a black sports coat. His bronze hair was messy as usual, and his face held an annoyed expression.

"So why are you here? Did you feel a sudden urge to get your groove on?" I asked dryly. He laughed... a little harder than I anticipated, actually. He shook his head and looked down at his feet.

"My mother," he began, almost spitting the word 'mother', "works with Jessica Stanley's mother. And apparently, I'm not being social enough with my peers, and Jessica shared this tidbit with her mother, who shared it with my mother. So here I am. I did manage to get $20 out of the deal, though." He took a long drag of his cigarette, and exhaled it through his nose. He back and forth from his cigarette to me, and then held it out for me to take. I wasn't sure what to do at first. Smoking did nothing for my kind. It was just like taking in a breath, only it smelled. I smoked when I was a human. Everyone did. So I decided to take it. I considered it a good thing that he offered it to me, and although I didn't want to admit it to myself, it had touched his lips, and I figured it was the closest thing to drinking his blood that I'd ever get. I beat down the bloodlust inside of me when this thought crossed my mind, and took a puff of the cigarette. The taste of the tobacco was disgusting to me, but it was overpowered by the taste of him. I held my breath for a long moment, having to regroup my thoughts, and remember that I did not want to kill this boy. Taking the cigarette was obviously a bad idea. My mouth was watering as the taste lingered on my tongue. I exhaled the smoke when I had composed myself, and handed the cigarette back to him. The smell and taste of it evoked some memories from my youth, and I sat there and let them play in my mind for a while.

Edward and I stayed in a comfortable silence for what felt like a long time, occassionally stealing glances at one another. Our quiet time together was interrupted, though, by Jessica Stanley. She yelled from the doorway for Edward to come back inside, and he looked at me with a defeated smirk, and stood up. He yelled back to her, telling her he'd be in in a minute. She accepted the promise, and went back inside the gymnasium. He looked back to me and sighed. "I wish I could just tell her to stay away from me," he said.

"Why don't you?" I asked. He shoved his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.

"I guess I'm too nice? Or maybe I'm just a coward. It's probably the latter."

"I'll do it," I smiled up at him. I would, too. He just chuckled and shook his head.

"No, I can take care of it. Thanks though." He gave me a crooked smile that would have stopped my heart, had it been beating. This boy had me in deep. He left me sitting on the bench, and walked back to the gym. I looked back up at the sky. It was a very clear night, and since Forks lacked any big-city lights, you could see all of the stars and the bright full moon illuminating in the night sky. I tried to pay attention to the sky, and fight the urge to follow him inside. It didn't work for long, and I gave up and headed back to the building.

I scoped Edward out, trapped in a slow dance with Jessica Stanley. I got a look at his face as they spun a little, and he looked like he was being tortured. I was amused, but enraged at the same time. Jessica Stanley just couldn't take a hint, and it was almost infuriating to me. I chose to ignore his wishes, and intervene. I sauntered over towards the swaying pair, feeling confident and angry, and tapped Jessica on her shoulder. She was clinging tightly to Edward's neck, and his hands were barely rested on her waist. He seemed glad for the interruption, taking his hands off of her as soon as he noticed me, and smiled at me. She swung around to look at me and I gave her a sweet smile. Her eyes were wide when she saw me, and I'm sure she was shocked that I was approaching her. I'd never said two words to Jessica, and I knew she resented me and my family.

"May I cut in?" I asked, in a sugar-coated voice. I provoked her, batting my eyes and pouting in the slightest way. She was angry, and embarrassed, and her face turned beet-red. I could see the fear in her eyes, though, and I knew she wouldn't deny me. She stepped aside, and stomped over to where her group of friends was standing. I smirked at her irritation, and turned my attention back to Edward, who was trying to hold back laughter. I waved for him to follow me to a spot where Jessica wouldn't be watching, and settled for the space where Rosalie and Emmett were dancing earlier. It was far less crowded than the rest of the dance floor. I grew nervous as I went to take his hand, because I knew he'd react to the temperature of my skin, but I took his in mine hesitantly. He flinched slightly, as if he'd just be shocked. I shifted my body into a more traditional pose, with one hand in his, and the other on his shoulder, and one of his hands on my waist. We began swaying back and forth, and his eyes scanned the room. He looked back to me, his gaze locked on mine, and changed our position. He brought my arms around his neck, my hands dangling lazily, and he set his hands just above my hips. He used his hands to press me slightly closer to him, because I had put as much space between us as possible. I stopped breathing, but I couldn't break my gaze from his. He was giving me that crooked smile again.

He leaned his face in a little and whispered to me. "I like your dress." We continued dancing slowly, rocking forward and back, and we danced for three songs, never breaking eye contact. After the third song, a faster one began playing, and we stopped moving, although we didn't break our hold on one another, or our gazes. After a long moment of silence, he spoke. "Do you want to go somewhere?" he asked. I still couldn't breathe, and I simply nodded. He unwrapped my arms from around his neck, but kept a light hold on my fingertips as he guided me through the crowd and towards the exit. We passed a fuming Jessica Stanley on our way out.

We made our way to a black Chevy Cavalier that appeared slightly aged. He opened the passenger door for me, and I smiled at him as I climbed into the car. I wasn't used to having doors opened for me. It was weird. And also amazing. He got into the driver's seat and started the car, then turned to me. "Where to? I don't really know the area. I just wanted to get out of there," he told me. I thought for a moment of a place we could go in this little town, and thought of a place. I smiled, and gave him directions to the area I knew well.

We arrived at our destination ten minutes later. It was a dead end road that led to a thick amount of trees in front of us. He looked at me, confused, but I just exited the car and began walking. He followed suit, running up and grabbing my arm. "Where are we going?" he asked.

"There's a clearing through here," I explained. I continued walking, but he didn't release my arm, and he still looked unsure when I turned back to him. "It's only a five-minute walk, I swear."

"How can you _see_ though?" He squinted in the darkness. The moonlight was covered momentarily by the large trees towering over us, but I could see perfectly. I had forgotten that he couldn't see perfectly, though, and it was probably pitch black to him. I removed his hand from my arm, and placed it in my hand, guiding him through the darkness.

Rougly six minutes and a couple of stumbles from Edward later, we reached the clearing, and it was illuminated in the moonlight. I released his hand, assuming he could see now, and walked over to a fallen tree by the flowing creek, and sat down. I heard the leaves crunch loudly under Edward's feet as he walked towards the log to join me, and I felt him drop his coat over my shoulders. I stared at him as he climbed over the log and sat next to me. "It's sweet of you to offer, but I don't need this," I said in reference to his jacket.

"You should be wearing a coat of your own. That dress barely covers you, and it's hardly summer out here," he argued back. "I'm wearing long sleeves and long pants, so I'll be fine. Just take the jacket so I don't have to worry about you getting sick." He picked up a few small stones and tossed them in the water. I was ready to argue back, because I really didn't need the coat. I could be standing in Antarctica, wearing nothing, and I would be fine. But as I thought with the cigarette, I figured it was a good sign and a very friendly gesture, so I let it go. I snuggled the jacket around me, and breathed in his scent. The more time I spent with him, the easier it was to ignore the burning in my throat. I was becoming accustomed to the scent, and actually enjoying it somewhat. We sat in a comfortable silence like we had earlier at school, and let time slip on by. He slid a little closer to me, trying to go unnoticed. I couldn't help but smile. "So why do you come here?" he asked nonchalantly. I shrugged.

"It's beautiful. It's away from people. It's untouched by man... It's all mine," I said in a proud tone.

"Why'd you bring me here, then? If it's all yours?" I thought about it for a moment. I hadn't brought anyone else here, not even my family. I liked having my alone time here, but it didn't feel threatening with Edward here. I felt the same calm that I felt when I was alone, although now it felt even better.

"I suppose I trust you to keep it to yourself. We can share it," I told him with a smile. We went back to looking at the stars, and tossing stones into the creek, and just sitting in our comfortable silence until I noticed him yawn three times in five minutes. We had probably been sitting here a long time, and it was a good idea to get him home. He might have had a curfew. I stood up, and offered him my hand. Without a word, he took it and I began leading us back to the car. He opened my door for me again, and I smiled... again.

He dropped me off at the road leading to my house, feeling hesitant about not dropping me at my door, but I assured him I'd be fine. I handed him back his jacket, and stepped out of the car, saying a sad good-bye to him. He stayed in his car and looked after me as I walked up the hill toward my house. I should have been annoyed that I had to walk rather than run back to my house, but I felt strangely joyful that he was watching after me, wanting to make sure I was safe. It was hilarious on the level that I needed absolutely no protection, but it was wonderful to have someone who wanted to protect me. So I walked slowly, and enjoyed the feel of it. Once I was out of his sight range, I heard him pull away and drive off. I could have run home after that, but I decided I liked the idea of walking tonight. I continued with my slow pace, and smiled foolishly all the way home.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** I feel compelled to explain Edward's smoking after a couple of reviews. I don't intend to have him smoking again in the story, and I doubt I'll even bring it up again. Let's say he was a stress smoker and he was stressed that night? I just had him smoking so Bella could take a drag and get a taste of him (that sounds creepy, doesn't it? But you guys know what I mean).

Bella is very emo!Bella in the beginning of this chapter, but it gets much less angsty. Promise.

* * *

The moment I walked in the door Saturday night - well, actually it was Sunday morning - I was being pumped for information by Alice. She kept asking me questions, and I wasn't sure why. She already knew the answers to all of them. But she wanted to hear it from my perspective, she said. So we sat in my room and talked about Edward for what seemed like hours. She giggled ferociously when she brought up how he had offered me his jacket, and although I tried to hide my eagerness, I just had to giggle right along with her. The way I was carrying on, I should have been disgusted with myself. Surprisingly, though, I wasn't. I felt... content. Happy, even. I wasn't sure. I hadn't felt so alive in such a long time. The past 50 years had been like sleep to me, they were so monotonous.

Once the laughter had died down, Alice just stared at me with a knowing look. I knew what she was thinking, and I tried to convey in a look of my own that I didn't want to hear it. Of course, Alice would have none of that.

"You know what I'm going to say. And you know it's true," she said, still staring at me with that look. I shook my head.

"No. I hardly know him," I explained. I needed her to stop pushing this. I had surrounded myself in a little bubble of denial tonight, denying myself any chance to hope, and I did not want her to pop my bubble.

"You know him enough, after tonight. You have a good idea of what kind of person he is, and you definitely like what you see," she continued. I tried to shut her up with a glare again, but she just wouldn't heed the warning. "He feels the same way... or he will. There are many different possibilities, but you're so indecisive, nothing is sticking." I was screaming inside my head when she told me that Edward will feel the same way, one day. They were screams of glee, and terror. Part of me - the bigger part - was so happy to hear this news. I wouldn't be alone anymore. But then the logical part of me - or the cowardous part of me - was horrified. I could not get involved with a human. It would be the most idiotic thing for me to do. He would be in danger, and my family's secret wouldn't be safe either. He would know something was different about me, if he were close enough and spent enough time around me. I doubt he'd know exactly what I was, but he would definitely know I was not normal. I began to panic, thinking maybe I shouldn't subject myself, or Edward, to this. It would be irresponisble to enter a relationship with him, and I started thinking of scenarios. If I stayed here, I couldn't stay away from him. I could tell already, because I was fighting the urge to find him right now. I _could_ leave. I didn't have to be in love with him. I shuddered when I thought the words. It was the first time I allowed myself to voice those feelings, if only in my mind. I went back to thinking about potential places I could go to. There was a family similar to ours, in Alaska. We had stayed with them before. I could be there by tomorrow, and leave my feelings behind. I didn't have to put myself through this torture...

I stopped calculating to glance up at Alice, and she had a heartbreaking look on her face. She had seen my plans. I placed my hand on hers, giving it a comforting squeeze, and tried to hide the sadness in my features. "Alice, it just isn't safe. For any of us. Try to understand how bad it would be for me to start a relationship with him."

"We just want you to be happy, Bella. And Edward would make you happy. You're so convinced it will end badly, but it doesn't have to. Have a little faith in yourself. You won't kill him."

"I may not kill him," I said, "but I could hurt him so easily. We wouldn't even be able to touch. What kind of a relationship is that?"

"Of course you'd be able to touch! You'd just have to be gentle. I know you can do it, Bella... and there are always other options. Edward could be... much more durable, some day." It took me a second to understand what she was implying, and when I did, I was horror-struck. I shook my head fervently.

"No," I replied in a firm voice.

"It's a possibility, Bella," she continued, carefully. "I see it." I was becoming angry.

"I don't care what you _see_, Alice. It's _not_ a possibility. I will not do that to him. It would be the most selfish thing I could do, and I would be disgusted with myself everytime I looked at him." I seethed at her. I was infuriated that she would even bring it up. I would never do that to Edward, to anyone. I would not condemn him to this hell just because I wanted a companion. Alice took my anger as her cue to leave. She gave me a sad smile, stood up, kissed the top of my head, and left my room with a fleeting gaze. I closed my eyes and tried to calm myself. Alice's visions were imperfect, and she said it was only one of her visions. There was no need to get so angry. I knew I wouldn't do it, but I still could not rid myself of the fury. I was angry that it was even a possibility, that the thought would ever cross my mind, if only for a second, even. I needed to leave the house, and I had the urge to run. I leapt from my window, and took off. I ran faster than I ever had before, thinking the wind could rip all my feelings and anger away. I hadn't realized where I was running to until I stopped and found myself in the meadow, the same one I was in with Edward just a few hours ago. I sat down on the log like before, and wrapped my arms around myself tightly. I stared at the reflection of the broken moonlight in the creek, and took my bottom lip in between my teeth, chewing on it anxiously. After I had calmed myself down, I thought of Alice's words. I had to stop myself everytime I started thinking of them. I found myself drifting off in a daydream, considering the possibility that she had laid in front of me. It made me happy to think of having a companion, someone to love and be with for the rest of eternity. Each time I snapped myself out of it, however, I became even more angry with myself. No matter how much I wanted this, I would never stoop to that. It was the most painful and difficult thing I'd ever gone through, when I was changed. How could I inflict that on someone I loved? I couldn't.

I realized that the moonlight's cast in the water was fading, and I gazed off to the east to notice the slightest beginnings of a sunrise. I huffed in frustration, and headed back towards home, and back towards reality.

My family was scattered all over the house when I arrived, doing various things. I walked past Rosalie and Emmett in the garage, Rosalie working underneathe her BMW, and Emmett leaning against it casually. His lips were moving, but I couldn't hear him. He just gave me a nod as I passed by. Jasper was lying sitting on the couch with Alice between his legs, sitting with her back to him, and his right hand rested on top of hers. They were flipping idly through channels on the television, as Jasper caressed Alice's hand. Sometimes it amazed me how human we all seemed, when we were just passing the time like this. Jasper paid no attention to me as I walked passed them, keeping his eyes fixed on the TV, but Alice gave me a small smile. I entered the kitchen, where Esme was perched on a stool at the counter. There were blueprints sprawled all over the countertop and I came to stand next to her, looking over her next project. She gave me a quick glance and smile before looking back down at her work and marking something on one of the papers. I gave up watching her after a few minutes, bored, and went back into the living room. I scanned the room with my eyes, considering possible activities I could do. I needed something to take my mind off of Edward, at least for the next 24 hours. I settled myself on the piano bench, and tapped a few notes. _I really should learn how to play_, I thought to myself. I continued hitting random notes for a few moments, but then gave up on the idea of anything down here entertaining me for very long.

I went upstairs and into my room, looking around for something to do as I had done downstairs. I ran my fingers along my CD collection, and settled on one, gently placing it into the stereo on my shelf, and pressing the play button. I paced around my room, trying to let the light melody calm my nerves. I was very fidgety, and I laid down on my couch, attempting to still my hands. I struggled for a long while to keep my thoughts from becoming too Edward-based, but found it to be a losing battle. I would loathe myself later, but right now I just wanted to escape reality. I closed my eyes and let myself slip into another daydream, only this time, it didn't involved Edward as a vampire, and I was grateful for that. My self-loathing wouldn't be quite as strong when I emerged back into reality. No, this time _I _was different. I was a human, and we were together, and it was normal and wonderful. I longed for this to be reality, and for the real-world to be a dream - a nightmare. I almost had myself convinced of this when I heard a quiet tap on my door. My eyes unwillingly fluttered open, and the bitterness began setting in immediately. I shouldn't have let myself get so carried away in my daydream. I would always feel this emptiness when I realized my life would never be that simple. I whispered for whomever was at my door to enter, and Alice walked in. I sat up, and pulled my legs close to my body, hugging them. I must not have hidden the excrutiating pain that the realization had given me very well, because she stared at me pitifully. I looked away from her, focusing on a spot on the carpet. That's all I needed right now, on top of the horrible aching in my chest from wanting so many things I cannot have, but to be pitied? It made me feel so weak. She sat next to me on the couch, throwing one arm around my shoulders and leaning her head against mine. Even though Alice made me feel pitiful when she tried to sympathize with me, I wasn't sorry for it. We had been close from the first day we met. She truly cared about me, and I know she felt helpless when she saw the pain in my eyes. We sat in silence for a long time, staying completely still with the exception of her hand rubbing my shoulder soothingly.

* * *

When Monday morning finally rolled around, I decided to push my self-hatred away. That life was unattainable to me, and sulking about it wouldn't make things better. Alice had told me that I could be happy, that Edward could make me happy, so I tried not to focus on other things I would never have.

After much anxiety over the subject, I decided to pursue Edward... in the broadest sense of the term. I could never be quite as obvious as Jessica Stanley and her incessant flirting, but I could subtley let my interest known to Edward. My classes were going very fast, and my nerves were going crazy with each passing minute. I kept thinking up scenarios in my head, wondering about possible conversations we could have. Should I ask him out? Should I wait and see if he would ask me out? I couldn't be more of a teenage girl in that moment if I tried. Even though I rolled my eyes at myself all morning long, I couldn't keep my thoughts from Biology class for long.

When lunch time came, I decided I couldn't wait for my next period. I entered the cafeteria and scanned over the room after I noticed that Edward was not standing with Jessica Stanley in line for food. My eyes went to their typical table, and I saw him sitting alone there, reading a book. I stood there, gawking at him, for a few seconds before I went over to the table. He didn't notice me when I walked towards him, and I leaned slightly over his shoulder. He still hadn't seen me, and I inhaled his scent before I interrupted him. I shuddered as I breathed him in. It couldn't have been healthy for me to find his smell so enthralling now, but I barely noticed how much it burned my throat, and the venom that filled my mouth, anymore. Edward had become my new favorite scent, and I inhaled once more, then tapped him on the shoulder. He jumped slightly, obviously captivated in his book, and looked up at me. I could hear his heart rate increase after I frightened him. "Would you like to sit with me today?" I whispered, as charmingly as I could. He stared back at me for a moment with a glazed look, but then nodded, and began gathering up his books. I smiled to myself, and lead us to an empty table. We took our seats, and neither of us spoke for quite some time. I watched as Jessica Stanley shot daggers at me when she noticed that Edward and I were sitting together. I looked back to Edward, who was staring down at the table. I tried to end the awkwardness by speaking first. "Not eating today?" He shook his head.

"You?" he asked. I shook my head also. He went back to staring at the table again, but he continued to attempt a conversation. "How was your weekend?"

"Very long," I told him truthfully. He chuckled under his breath. "Yours?"

"The same." He looked up at me now. "Very boring." He left his mouth open, like he wanted to add something, but closed it again, and shifted his gaze back to the table. He went back and forth from peering at me to staring at the table 4 times before he spoke again. "I had a good time Saturday," he said, and smiled the same crooked smile from Saturday night. I grinned back at him.

"Me too."

"Y'know, I'm driving to Port Angeles after school today to pick up this end table for my mom. I could use some company. You want to come?" he asked, and I could barely contain my happiness. I smiled, and nodded.

"Sure, I'd like that." The awkwardness began to melt away after that, and we discussed superficial things. We talked about books and movies and music, and found that we had a lot of common interests. I'd already known we had a similar taste in music, but I discovered that we both were also fans of classic books and movies. We continued talking all throughout lunch, and I was very glad we had our next class together, because I wasn't ready to leave Edward just yet. We were discussing _Casablanca_ as we walked to the science building, and deliberated over the ending. We entered the classroom, and I was saddened that we had to stop talking while Mr. Banner taught me things I knew better than he did. I let my long hair form a curtain between Edward and I, as I had done the previous week, and I watched him through it. I smiled every time he glanced over at me, which was 17 times during the hour that class lasted. The bell rang, and I mentally groaned. I didn't want to leave him. I wanted to learn more about him. I wanted to learn _everything_ about him. I reminded myself that I would see him in just another hour, and we had a large block of time to talk, but it didn't calm my nerves. Even if it was for just an hour, I felt depressed already that it was an hour spent away from him. He asked me to meet him at his car when school was out. I nodded and we said our goodbyes, and headed off to our last classes.

Maybe I was kidding myself, but I swore that, for a second, he looked just as sad as I was that we had to part.

Gym was _slow_, and I was dying to get out of there and see Edward. I was so excited, I practically skipped to the parking lot. He was already there, leaning against his car and waiting for me. I hurried over to him with a large smile on my face, and said a quiet hello. He smiled back, and opened the passanger door for me. I looked over to where our Volvo was parked, and saw Alice looking back at me with a huge, goofy grin on her face. I just shook my head and climbed into his car. We started off driving in a comfortable silence, listening to the CD he had playing. After a while, we began our earlier discussion on movies, and settled on a conversation about _American Beauty_, agreeing that, even though it was less than a decade old, it would definitely count as a classic in both of our eyes. We moved onto literature after that, and discussed Jane Austen until we reached the furniture store where we were to pick up the table for his mother. It only took ten minutes to pay for the table, and put it in his trunk. Edward drove through a fast-food restaurant, arguing that I should eat something considering neither of us had lunch that day, but I declined, and he ordered himself a cheeseburger. We began the drive back to Forks, and I asked about his family. He told me about his parents; his father was a bank manager, and the company he worked for back in Chicago had transferred him out here to head up their new chain of banks. His mother was a school secretary back in Chicago, but she worked at the nearest bank that his father ran now, as a teller.

"So... do you really hate Forks?" I asked. He opened his mouth to say something, but hesitated. He glanced over at me, but then turned his attention back to the road.

"It's growing on me," he said with a slight smile. We drove the rest of the way home in silence, occassionally peering over at each other and, chuckling quietly when we did it at the same time.

He dropped me on the same road he had on Saturday night, still protesting that he would rather drop me at my door, but I assured him I didn't mind walking. After he realized that it was pointless to argue, he allowed me to exit the car and began the walk back to my house. He watched me for a short while as I walked along the road leading to my home, but he didn't stay as long as he had on Saturday, probably because it wasn't completely dark yet. I felt the same ache I had when leaving him earlier after he drove off, and I missed him already. I had learned it was futile to fight my feelings anymore. This boy had me head-over-heels, and I couldn't deny it to myself for even a second longer.

I didn't feel like getting ambushed by Alice, so I decided not to go home. I wanted to be alone. Well, I wanted to be with Edward, but I figured alone was the next best thing - and it paled so greatly in comparison. I ran to the meadow again, and sat on the same log. I smiled to myself, thinking back over the events of the day, and skipped stones across the creek.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but the sun had set completely. I was startled when I heard a distant footstep. I thought it was an animal at first, but I saw a dim light, far away. The footsteps were getting closer, and the light getting clearer. When the figure was about thirty feet away, I realized it was Edward. I was surprised to see him, but not unhappy in the least. It was like he was answering a silent prayer by showing up here. He didn't even notice me when he was five feet away, though. His flashlight was pointing away from me, and the moon was completely covered by the clouds, so I presumed it was completely dark to him. He seemed to be searching for the log I was sitting on when his flashlight finally settled on my figure. He gasped loudly and dropped his flashlight. I heard his heart accelerate, and he was searching for the flashlight on the ground in a panic. I giggled at him, and he looked up at me, confused. He still couldn't see me though, so he went back to looking for his flashlight, which had shut off from the impact of hitting the ground. I smiled, and went over to pick it up while he was still in a frenzy. His heart rate continued to increase when he wasn't finding it. I smacked it a couple of times until it turned back on, and pointed the light at him. His eyes were wide as he stared into the light, and I laughed again.

"Edward, it's me," I said through my laughs. He squinted in confusion.

"Bella?" he asked. I loved hearing him say my name. I handed him back his flashlight and he turned the light on me. "What are you doing here?"

"What are _you_ doing here?" I repeated.

"I just... didn't want to go home," he shrugged. "And there's not really anywhere else to go. So why are you here?"

"Same reason," I told him as I went back to sit on the log. He came over to join me, and I heard him stumble twice before he made it. I went back to skipping stones, and he started to as well. The night was very still, and all I heard was his breathing and his heart beating.

"I don't get how you can come sit out here in the dark," he said after a long moment of silence. "How can you see? I could barely see two feet in front of me _with_ my flashlight."

"I... have a lot of vitamin C in my diet," I explained. I was positive he wouldn't buy that, but maybe for now it was a good enough excuse for him to not push it. He "hmmed" in acknowledgment and the silence continued for a long while. I was curious of the time, so I removed the cell phone I rarely used from my pocket, and pressed a button so that the screen would light up and tell me what time it was. It was 12:36 AM, and it was a school night, so I didn't want to keep Edward any longer. "We should probably get going, it's really late," I explained to him. He stood up, and began walking back the way he came, but turned when he noticed I wasn't following.

"Aren't you coming?" he asked, turning the flashlight back towards me, and illuminating my face. I shook my head.

"No, I walked." His eyes grew wide.

"You _walked_? Why? It's not exactly close to your house. And it's freezing out tonight."

"It's not so bad. And it's closer to my house than you'd think," I lied. He sighed, walked over towards me, and grabbed my wrist, trying to pull me along with him. I didn't budge though. "Edward, really, I don't mind walking home. I do this all the time." He released my wrist, and turned to face me.

"Bella, it is almost 1 in the morning, it's pitch black out here, and your skin feels like ice. I am not letting you walk all the way home when I could just as easily give you a ride. Please, let me," he commanded in a firm voice. I stifled a giggle. I found it adorable, the way he wanted to look after me.

"Fine," I said curtly, but this time I grabbed his wrist and began towing him back towards where his car was parked. He would probably get lost if he was leading the way. I didn't even want to think about how long it took him to find the meadow to begin with, so I took the lead. He didn't like that I was holding his wrist, though, so he slid his hand until it was in mine. I was glad he couldn't see me, because I was grinning like a fool when he did this. We arrived at his car, and began driving towards my house. Once we reached the road that I wanted him to drop me at, though, he continued driving. He refused to let me walk the rest of the way, so I begrudgingly gave him the short directions to my house. Once we reached my house, he touched my hand lightly.

"You're still so cold. Make sure you wrap yourself up nice and tight when you get inside," he ordered me, and I couldn't help but let a small chuckle pass through my lips. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I nodded, and exitted the car, sprinting into my house. He didn't drive away until I had the door closed, and I watched through the window as he smiled lightly in the darkness before he drove off. It had me smiling so much, my face should have hurt. I turned around and leaned against the door, staying like that for a few moments and smiling like an idiot, before I went up to my room for the remainder of the evening.

I thought I would burst from excitement as I eagerly awaited the morning to come.

* * *

**A/N: **Yet again, I apologize if there's any grammar or spelling errors, or if I use repeat words a lot (I know I used "smile" a LOT in this chapter, ha), but apparently I like to write at 4:30 in the morning when I should be sleeping, and it makes my proof-reading skills less than ideal.

Please review! Reviews make me happy, and they make me write faster! :-D


	7. Chapter 7

I tried desperately to keep my thoughts of Edward at bay all night long, but of course I failed. I rearranged my CD by genre, and then again by the color of the cases, and then back to alphabetical, the way they originally were.

I did the same with my books, and then organized my closet. I was running out of things to do in my small room. As I was knelt on the floor, deciphering over ways I could arrange my shoes, I heard Alice laughing at me from my doorway. I shot her an evil glare, but she continued to mock me.

"You know, the oven could use a good scrubbing. I know we never use it, but you seem so eager to clean."

"Shut up," I muttered at her, placing my shoes in a perfect line before standing and closing my closet door. She ignored me, and breezed into my room, her arms crossed and her nose up in the air in a teasing manner. I paid no attention to her, and did a slow turn, my eyes scanning the room for a new project. My pointless organization - and reorganization, and more reorganization after that - had only taken up about an hour, and I still had nearly 5 hours left until school started. I huffed out a deep breath and plopped down on my couch. Alice came to sit next to me, still smiling coyly at me. I rolled my eyes at her.

"I think it's cute," she said. She found this hilarious. I leaned back to lay on the couch, my hands on my head and my eyes closed. I heard her giggle again, but I couldn't focus enough to shoot her a dirty look. "You are so smitten. It's beyond adorable." I opened my eyes, irritated, but remained in my position.

"How is it adorable, Alice? It's disgusting. If only you knew how much I hate myself right now."

"Why?" Her condescending tone disappeared. She sounded genuinely curious.

"_Why_?" I repeated. "Why wouldn't I? Falling in love with a human is the most idiotic thing I could do. Not to mention, I'm absolutely mortified at my actions. It's absolutely ridiculous, the way I behave around him." I closed my eyes again. I swear, it almost felt like a migraine was coming on.

"Will you stop!" I flinched, surprised as the volume of her voice jumped up. I opened my eyes, and sat up, confused.

"What?" I asked, startled. She looked so annoyed, I very rarely saw Alice this way. She was always bubbly, sometimes to the point where I wanted to be nauseous.

"You are lucky, Bella, why don't you understand that?" She stood up, now, pacing around the room and waving her hands as she spoke. "Edward makes you happy. You don't seem to be so preoccupied with how 'disgusting' it is when you're with him. You love him... and he loves you. Who cares if it's not _conventional_? For the first time in over 50 years, you are actually happy. You don't want to admit it, because for some reason you love to stew in your own self-hatred, but I see you smiling now - smiling a lot. You try to hide it, though I don't know why. Why do you want to be miserable, Bella?" She was glowering at me now, with her hands on her hips. I couldn't answer at first. Alice had never gone off on me. I blinked, and became agitated.

"I don't _want_ to be miserable, Alice. You just don't get how hard this is for me," I scowled at her. She rolled her eyes dramatically at me.

"Please. It's getting easier for you every second you're with him. You're just reluctant to be happy, because you've been unhappy for so long." I scoffed at her.

"I think you should go now, Alice." She was out of my room in less than a second. I was angry at first, and I was almost happy to have my irritation at Alice as a distraction, but once I calmed down, I chewed on her words. I was starting to understand where she was coming from. I was complaining _a lot_, and she was being very patient with me, even though I was constantly taking shots at myself. I suddenly became disgusted with myself in a new way. I was pitying myself. I groaned at this realization, laying back down and placing my hands on my forehead again. I had to stop beating myself up, because now that I thought about just how much I did, I became very annoyed about it.

I knew it was no good to keep this inner battle going, because everytime I saw Edward, I forgot all my feelings of dismay anyway. My thoughts of annoyance at myself turned back to Edward. I wanted to see him. More than that, I was yearning for it, aching for it. I turned to look at my clock. It was around 2:30, and he should be sleeping. An idea flashed through my head, and the disgust I felt was returning. I locked it away, deciding that I had enough of my melodramatic hysterics tonight, and I sprang out the window, and took off running. I passed the garage, where Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were gathered, and I heard Emmett yell out "where are you going?" to me, but I didn't answer. They were out of sight, and out of mind, within 2 seconds.

I stared at the modest Masen home in the dark, and my inner turmoil was returning. Even if I agreed with Alice, and let my guard down with Edward, this _was_ kind of creepy. I was inheriting stalker tendancies by being here, but I couldn't fight with the urge to see his face. I scaled the tree next to the house, and tip-toed across the large branch extending to Edward's window. I struggled again with my indecision as I peeked in, but I eventually opened his window - carefully - and climbed inside. The small lamp on his dresser gave the room an eerie orange tint, and as I glanced around the room, my eyes fell on Edward's sleeping form, tangled in a mess of sheets on his bed. I smiled, and the ache in my chest was fading. I knew it was a mistake, but I was too entranced in him, and I crept over to the side of his bed and knelt down. My face was inches from him, and I examined his face very closely. He was absolutely breathtaking. Thinking of which, I inhaled deeply and let the burn scorch my throat. Even though it was the worst thirst I had ever felt, I couldn't even imagine harming him now. In a stupid and involuntary motion, I raised my hand slowly and lightly trailed the outline of his face. He shivered at my cold touch, and exhaled. His warm, delicious breath smacked right into my face, but I only closed my eyes and let his scent wash over me, and it was my turn to shiver.

My fingers continued to trail all over his soft, beautiful face for a long time. I finally ripped my eyes from him when dim, gray light began spilling through his window and illuminating his bedroom. I glanced at the clock on his bedside table, and noticed that I had been here for four hours. I exhaled silently, giving his jawline one last stroke, before I exitted his room the way I had came, quietly shutting his window.

When I returned home and arrived in my room, Alice was sitting on my couch and smiling at me, her elbows resting on her knees and her head propped in her hands. I laughed, and sat down next to her.

"I'm sorry, Alice," I muttered. She smiled wider at me.

"It's okay, Bella. I _do_ know how hard this is for you, really. And I'm proud of you, for how strong you've been. I just think you're making it harder than it needs to be."

"You're right," I agreed. "I am... I'm going to try to stop doing that."

"So... when do I get to meet Edward?" My eyes widened and she giggled at my expression. "C'mon, Bella! I'll be good!" I shook my head, but I smiled at her.

"If anything is going to scare him away, it's not going to be my vampire family," I joked. She kept a teasing look in her eye, but her smile disappeared. She looked hesitant to continue.

"He's going to find out," she whispered. My face fell. "You're going to tell him." My hand pressed to my chest, in an old human habit, as if my heart rate had just picked up.

"_Why_ would I do that?" I asked in disbelief. Why would I willingly share my family's secret? She shrugged.

"You just will. You want him to know." I had hoped she was wrong, that this vision was particularly imperfect, but she seemed very certain of herself. It took me a few moments to compose myself. I was practically having a panic attack.

"How's he going to react?" I asked, not really wanting an answer.

"I can't be sure, yet. It's not clear. But he loves you, Bella. I'm not so sure it will send him running for the hills." Her answer didn't ease me any. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you..." I didn't respond. I felt my variation of a migraine returning. She smiled sadly at me, and left me alone with my thoughts.

I considered different scenarios of telling Edward in my head, and each one ended in Edward screaming in terror and running away from me. I couldn't imagine he would react any other way. It was finally time to leave for school, and I rushed to change my clothes and sped to the car where my siblings were already waiting.

I saw Edward in the parking lot, and almost went up to him, but I was far too nervous. Who knew when I would just blurt out the truth? I was scared, now, that my brain would stop working and I would tell him the moment we spoke. Alice was right: she shouldn't have told me. Now I felt even more insane than I did before.

My muscles and jaw were clenched all morning, and I wasn't able to loosen up until lunchtime. When it finally arrived, I was deliberating. Should I sit with Edward today? I waltzed into the cafeteria and saw Edward standing in line with Jessica Stanley. As usual, he looked bored, and she was laughing. She kept touching his arm as he talked, and I wanted to slap her. No, I wanted to do far worse than slap her, but I figured a good slap across her face would be enough. I balled my hands into fists and scowled at them, then looked over at my lunch table when I heard Alice giggle, doing so louder than necessary so I could hear her. She was smiling at me, but the rest of my family was not. Rosalie was glaring, Emmett looked indifferent, and Jasper didn't look at me, but he didn't look happy. I turned my attention back to Edward and the little tramp and felt another pang of fury when she touched his arm again. I decided to rescue him, before she pushed him to the floor and attacked him, and also before I got so fed up that I smashed her head against a table. I sighed deeply as I walked over to them... I didn't like this side of me.

At first, I just stood behind them in line, needing to buy lunch myself, and waited for Edward to turn around. It didn't take him long, and I was pleasantly surprised when his boring expression lifted into a huge smile upon seeing me. I smiled back, then looked between him and Jessica, rolling my eyes. He chuckled silently, but Jessica noticed that his attention was suddenly diverted. She turned to look at me, and at once her face was full of irritation. She blushed, turned forward, and stopped her chattering. Edward kept his body turned towards me though, and quietly laughed again when Jessica shut up.

"Hi," I said, a little too happily to rub it in Jessica's face. I heard her breathing increase. Maybe I didn't need to slap her. This was far more amusing.

"Hi," he repeated, and mimicked my tone. I wasn't sure how much longer Jessica would last. Sure enough, she excused herself from the line to go to the restroom, her face red with anger and embarrassment. Edward and I couldn't help but laugh. The line moved forward, and he filled a tray with some of the disgusting food. I did the same. "So are we sitting together today?" he asked, and his smile was so dazzling, I stopped breathing. This boy knew how to work me. Was he doing this on purpose, or was he really just _that_ irresistable to me?

"If you want," I answered coolly. He nodded, and we made our way to pay for the food. We quietly sat down at an unoccupied circular table towards the corner of the lunch room, and he slowly ate a fry, staring up at me every other second. He snickered, and I only realized then that I was gawking at him, completely entranced. One arm was folded across me, and the other was propped on the table, my chin in my hand. I forced myself to look away from him. "How did you sleep?" I asked, still keeping my eyes down.

"Fine... you?" I fought back a laugh, but couldn't stop my lips from twitching.

"Not well," I told him. It was the truth, after all. "I had a lot of... things on my mind." I now looked up, hinting to him that _he_ was the thing on my mind. It was a mistake, because my look now had him curious.

"Like?" I argued with myself over what to respond with.

"Like... how I had a much better time sitting in the dark than I should have." Might as well stick with the honesty thing. I didn't want to scare him away, but Alice's words were in my head. _He loves you_, I heard her say to my subconcious. If she was right, then telling him how I was thinking about him should hardly freak him out. He _should_ be happy to hear it. I still couldn't help feeling nervous as I said the words, but it quickly faded with his smile.

"Me too," he said. "I'm glad you didn't die of hypothermia. Feeling warmer today?" He began reaching across the table to touch my hand. I wanted to pull away, but I couldn't find my strength. It felt like a magnetic pull as his arm stretched towards me. He gently ran his fingers over the back of my hand, and when he pulled back, he looked confused and... worried? "You're always so cold," he whispered, more to himself than to me. I shrugged, and he popped another fry in his mouth, chewing slowly, and I found myself captivated again. Even him chewing on a piece of food left me staring, and I considered that I may have serious psychiatric issues. I made myself look away again. When I looked up again, he was peering at me, and I was quickly lost in his eyes. He looked down at my tray and back up to me. "Aren't you going to eat?" he asked, looking down at my tray again. My eyes followed his.

"I don't think so. I'm not feeling too hungry today," I answered. Thirsty, yes, very much so. But hungry? Well, not so much. I thought about the possibility of us sitting together every day, and knew that I would have to start eating the disgusting cafeteria food if we did. It was a small price to pay to have the hour alone with him, but I cringed at the idea regardless. I would just have to throw it back up later, and that idea was hardly appealing. I glanced back up at him, and he looked worried again.

"Are you feeling alright? Maybe you did catch something last night..." I smiled and shook my head.

"I'm fine. Just not hungry."

"Let me feel your head," he said.

"Really, Edward, I'm fine. I promise." I thought back to my intial worries about telling him the truth, and the nerves about it came rushing back. I almost felt the desire to tell him right here and now, so he would stop his concern for my health, but I pushed it out of my mind. Maybe I could prove Alice wrong. Besides, I found it incredibly pleasing that he worried about me. He finished his lunch in silence, and I stared at him for the remainder of the hour, finding his chewing oddly sensual and again questioning my mental stability. It was time for Biology, and we walked together, our bodies almost touching. There was a video in class today, and neither of us seemed to be able to concentrate. I smiled widely to myself everytime I caught him looking at me. We said an awkward goodbye after class, and I watched him walk away, laughing when he turned his head very slowly to look at me, and snapping it back forward when he saw that I hadn't left my spot.

We played volleyball in gym, and I stood in the back as I tended to with team sports, and thought about Edward, as usual, the entire time.

I made my way to the Volvo, my family already gathered around the car, and glanced over where I knew Edward's car was parked. He was there, leaning against it, and looking at me. He and I exchanged a distant smile, and Emmett broke me from my trance. "Get in, Bella," he said impatiently. I looked back up to Edward, and he jerked his head to the side, signaling me to come over. I grinned, and shut the back door to our car. Rosalie opened the window.

"Bella!" she hissed.

"Sorry, guys. I'm not riding with you today." I skipped away, towards Edward, and heard Alice giggle and Rosalie growl.

I stood in front of him now, still smiling, and waited for him to talk. "Do you want to go to the meadow with me? I really don't feel like going home." I smiled wider, and he held the passenger door open for me. I eagerly climbed in, and tried to keep myself from bouncing out of my skin.

We drove in silence, but exchanged a few small smiles on the way. We arrived at the trail, and began our walking. It was the first time we'd come together in the daytime, and that seemed to help with Edward's speed and coordination. I let him lead the way, and he didn't stumble once, and was actually walking quite fast today. We arrived at the meadow, but didn't take our usual seats on the log. The foliage seemed dry enough today, but Edward laid his jacket down on the soft grass for me to sit on. I didn't argue, and folded my legs underneath me, sitting on his jacket. He sat down next to me, very close, and our arms were almost touching.

"It's so different here in the light," he said, very quietly. "I didn't realize there were flowers..." Across the meadow, some wildflowers hadn't died yet from the cold autumn nights. "I really do like it here. It's very peaceful." He turned to me, and his crooked smile reeled me in again. He bored into my eyes, and I was unable to break off from his gaze. We stared at each other for a long while, smiles disappearing and an unreadable expression washed over his face. I heard him stop breathing, and his heart was thudding loudly in his chest.

The tempo of his heart picked up, and he very slowly began to lean towards me. I stopped breathing as well, when he did this, and panicked, but I couldn't make myself move. I couldn't pull back or look away. I was completely trapped in his eyes. He kept leaning, to the point where his face was just two inches from mine, when I somehow managed to speak. "Stop," I barely breathed. He froze where he was, and I closed my eyes, forcing my body to turn away from his. I breathed deeply, in and out, my hands resting on my temples. When I finally opened my eyes and glanced at him, I felt guilty. He had his arms lazily resting on his bent knees, and he was staring at the ground, looking rejected. "I'm sorry," I said.

"No, don't apologize," he replied, with false politeness. "_I'm_ sorry. I shouldn't have been so forward. I... thought you liked me." He gazed off into the thick forest. His words only made me feel more guilty.

"I do... that's the problem." Honesty seemed to win out earlier today, might as well keep it up.

"Why is that a problem?" he asked, curious.

"I can't..." I didn't finish my sentence. I just shook my head.

"Can't what?" He touched my arm, very lightly, and turned so that he was facing me. I kept my face forward, but my eyes kept darting sideways to look at him. He waited patiently for my answer. I turned towards him, but not fully. Just enough to look at him as I spoke.

"I like you... too much, Edward, and there are... complications that I can't tell you about."

"Why can't you tell me?" He picked up one of my hands and traced circles over it with his thumb. He was trying to force it out of me, but I had to prove Alice wrong... no matter how persuasive he was being.

"It's a secret..." The volume of my voice was lowering with each sentence. He leaned in a little and whispered at me.

"I won't tell." He smiled again. I wanted to be angry at him for how easily he was beating me, but I was too lost - in his gaze, in his scent, in his smile. Damn it. It was practically on the tip of my tongue. I tried to swallow it, but it wouldn't disappear. I couldn't tell him. Not yet, at least. I felt ridiculously weak for wanting to cave so quickly. I shook my head, putting up the best fight I could.

"You won't like me anymore," I said sadly. His smile widened and I cursed him internally. It was like he knew exactly how to play me - he knew exactly which trick to pull out of his sleeve.

"That's impossible, Bella." For some reason, I believed him... He had me. I gave up. I sighed heavily. Why did Alice always have to be right?

"There's something you don't know about me, Edward." He kept my hand in his, and had an adorably curious gleam in his eye. "I'm not what you think I am..."

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**A/N: **Reviews are awesome! Keep 'em coming! I know I don't respond to them, but I take everything that's said into account, so please, review!


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Thanks so much for all the awesome reviews! Keep 'em coming! I hope this chapter was worth the wait for you all!

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As Edward stared back at me, an eager curiosity washing over his features, I began to have second thoughts. This could be the last time I saw him, if I did tell him. My throat was closing up at the thought of it, and it was even harder to force the words out.

I studied his face carefully, my eyes trailing slowly from his forehead - with the smallest of creases in it from his eyebrows pushing together from his confusion - down to his eyes, wide and green. They continued down, over his perfect cheekbones, and they finally settled on his full lips. They lingered there for an immeasurable amount of time, and I decided that if this may be the last time I would see him, I would make the most of it. My eyes snapped back up to his, and I smiled at my idea. His eyebrows pushed together further, and he chuckled at whatever joke I was not letting him in on.

"What?" he asked.

"Before I tell you..." I tucked my loose hair behind my ears, giving my face room for what I was planning. "can I try one thing?" Holding my breath, I leaned in, very slowly. His heartrate picked up, and I gently touched my lips to his. We sat still as statues for a few moments, and then I pulled back, keeping my face inches from his. He exhaled deeply and his breath hit my face. I closed my eyes and fought the urge to clutch my throat. When I opened them again, he was smiling.

"I really hope you're not going to tell me you're a man... I would be very disappointed," he said. I laughed, and leaned in again.

This kiss was more intense, but still very careful. Both of our lips parted slightly, and as we continued, I started feeling much more comfortable. I was able to inhale in between kisses, and his taste wasn't tempting me nearly as much as I thought it would. Well, it wasn't tempting the vampire within me so much as the human.

I was almost cocky in my ability to not kill him when he made a mistake. Before I could react, he opened his mouth wider and shoved his tongue into my mouth. The heat of it was overwhelming, and my eyes popped open, wide in panic. I ceased breathing, and broke the kiss, leaping away from him. In less than a second, I was backed up against a tree, gripping it tight with my hands and willing myself to keep control. I squeezed my eyes shut, and kept from inhaling, trying to forget that Edward was there. But his heartbeat was loud and fast, and the memory of his pulse pounding in my mouth made more venom pool inside my cheeks. I forced myself to swallow it, and feeling reason return to me, I allowed myself to open my eyes and look at Edward.

He looked completely confused, and shocked, probably because I was now fifteen feet away from him. He was staring at my hands, and I looked down at them to see why they held his interest so intently. I loosened my grip on the large tree, and realized that I had left fist prints in the wood. I glanced back towards him, and his expression hadn't changed, except now his eyes rested on my face.

I inhaled, testing the air and assuring myself that I was in control, and walked back to him, slowly. I sat back down, but sat much further from him, since he still had the shocked look on his face. I waited for him to speak, and glared at the ground as the seconds passed unbearably.

"What was _that_?" he finally asked, his frantic expression finally smoothing out into a calmer one. I gazed at him cautiously.

"_That_ kind of pertains to what I wanted to tell you..."

"Well? Tell me." I chewed on my lip, deliberating again. Now I had no choice but to tell him, but how should I do it? I needed him to believe me, but I didn't want to scare him.

"Edward... are you superstitious at all?" I decided to ease him into it, and test how far I would have to take it before he believed me.

"In what ways?" he asked, confused.

"Do you believe in ghosts? Witches? Werewolves?" He chuckled.

"Are you trying to tell me you're a mythical creature?"

"Would you believe me if I did?" I kept my tone serious. He smiled.

"Before I met you, no, I wouldn't have believed it. But I'm starting to think otherwise..."

"So you've noticed something... different about me then?"

"Other than the fact that you leapt away from me before I could even open my eyes? Or that you mangled that tree with your bare hands?" He tilted his head towards the tree with my handprints in it.

"Yes," I nodded. "Other than that."

"Well..." he began, looking weary to continue. "You're always so cold..." I nodded again.

"Anything else?"

"You can see _everything_ in the dark."

"Continue." I gave him a reassuring smile.

"Um... you're really pale. Paler than everyone else, except for your family. And your eyes change colors. They're black right now, but sometimes they're the strangest shade of gold. I've never seen anyone with eyes like yours." His reminder that my eyes were black at the moment had me making a mental note to hunt as soon as possible. Regardless that I was in control right now, I should never let myself get so thirsty when I'm around him. "And you never eat. You always buy food at lunch, but you never eat it... I think that's it..."

"So... what do you think that means?" He chuckled again.

"Well, I don't think it means you're a werewolf. Are you a witch?" I smiled and shook my head. "Ghost?"

"I guess I could be considered a ghost, in certain aspects. But not in the literal sense of the word, no."

"So what are you, then?" he asked, his impatience beginning to show in his voice. I grinned widely, trying one last time to scare him away from the answer.

"You really want to know?"

"Are you kidding? I'm dying to know, Bella." I chuckled at his choice of words. I took one last deep breath.

"How do you feel about... vampires?" I whispered the last word, almost hoping he wouldn't hear me. I wasn't sure he did when his expression remained blank, but then he smiled. This smile seemed mocking.

"You're a vampire?" he asked, disbelief seeping through. I shrugged.

"Wouldn't it explain everything?"

"I suppose."

"You don't believe me," I said, more a statement than a question.

"No. I think I might, actually."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"I don't know. How should I feel?" he asked.

"Shocked? Worried? Petrified? Something along those lines?" He shook his head.

"No..."

"Maybe you don't believe me then." He quirked an eyebrow at me.

"Would you like to prove it to me?"

"I don't want to freak you out," I explained.

"I think I already got that out of my system when you took a chunk out of the tree."

"Alright then," I said, standing up. I took off running, making a large lap and watching Edward's eyes as he tried to follow my figure. I had circled the entire meadow, and yielded in front of him after only a few seconds. His eyes were a little wider, but he still held his calm expression.

"Well, that was very impressive, but it doesn't really prove you're a vampire," he teased. I knelt in front of him, grabbing his warm hand, sliding it under the collar of my shirt and pressing it to my chest.

"What do you feel?" I asked. He kept his hand very still.

"Nothing?" he said, confused.

"Exactly. No heartbeat." He moved his hand from my chest and up to my neck, pressing his index and middle finger into the exact spot where a pulse should be found. He released my neck, and picked up my arm, now pressing his fingers to my wrist, again looking for a pulse. When he didn't find one, he dropped my hand. "You believe me now?" I whispered. Edward's mocking demeanor disappeared, a serious one replacing it.

"I think I do... I guess it just needs to sink in." I took his hand in mine gingerly, and pressed it to my cheek. He smiled, and I grinned in response.

He wasn't screaming. He wasn't running. He wanted to stay with me. It suddenly felt as if a huge weight was lifted off my chest.

* * *

Edward and I were laying side by side in the grass now, and he was firing all kinds of questions at me. I closed my eyes, resting my head in my hands, and answered his eager questions the best I could.

"Can you go in the sunlight?" he asked. I opened my eyes and stood up when he asked this, grabbing his hand and pulling him up. I walked us over to a spot where a small patch of sunlight was peering down through the canopy of the forest. I put my hand in the path of the light, and watched his face, the reflection of my hand glittering in his wide eyes. "That's... interesting." I giggled at him.

"The light doesn't hurt us, but we can't go out in public, for obvious reasons." We walked back to our spot in the grass and sat down, facing each other.

"What about all the other myths? Garlic? Wooden stakes? Coffins?"

"The smell of garlic is really irritating, but all human food smells bad to us. It doesn't hurt us. Wooden stakes do nothing. Humans can't kill us. Very little can. And as for coffins, well, we don't sleep in those... We don't sleep at all."

"You don't sleep?" he asked, surprised. I shook my head. "I can't imagine that..."

"To say it's boring would be an understatement."

"I'll bet." All was quiet for a moment, only the sound of the was wind present. When it seemed like he wasn't going to speak anytime soon, I decided to bring up the touchy subject myself.

"You have yet to ask me the most important question," I told him.

"What's that?"

"Aren't you curious about what we eat?"

"Oh... that."

"Yes, that... Don't worry, we only hunt animals."

"Do all vampires do that?"

"No, that's just the way our family works... we don't like to kill people."

"So, is animal blood the same as human blood for you?" he asked.

"No. Not even close. We call ourselves vegetarians," I chuckled. "Inside joke. But it's not easy to live on animal blood alone. You never feel completely satisfied."

"Is it difficult for you to be around humans, then?"

"Not usually... it's difficult to be around_ you_."

"Why?"

"Your blood... it smells very... appealing to me. I can't explain it. But it hurts a lot, when I'm with you." His face fell, and his muscles tensed. "I'm sorry if that scares you. I won't hurt you... I'll _try_ not to hurt you." His body still didn't loosen. I shook his arm free, and took his hand in mine, lacing our fingers together. I stared at our entwined hands, and felt his pulse beating against my palm. "I don't want to put you in danger," I whispered. "... but I can't seem to stay away from you." His composure finally relaxed, and I leaned in slowly to brush my lips against his. I pulled back and smiled. "See? I'm fine," I assured him. He leaned in this time, and pressed his lips into mine, harder, and parted his lips. Seeing where this was going, I broke the kiss before it went too far, and he looked confused when I did so. I smiled again. "We need to take this very slow... I don't want to kill you," I said, half-jokingly. I expected him to freeze up again, but he laughed lightly, pressing a small kiss to my forehead, and standing up. He held out his hand to me, and I gladly took it, standing with him, our hands locked together. He gazed around the meadow.

"It's getting dark. That may not be a problem for _you_, but I should probably get home... can I give you a ride?"

"I don't _need_ one, you know."

"I know, but I'm not quite ready to say goodbye." He smiled his signature crooked smile, and squeezed my hand. How could I argue with that logic? We walked back to the car in a comfortable silence, and he drove me home, holding my hand the entire way.

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**A/N:** Alright, that was a pretty short chapter, but I think a lot was accomplished. Edward knows, and they had their first kiss, so yay for progress!

The only problem is, now that Edward knows, I'm not quite sure where I'm gonna go with this (I haven't really planned any farther past this part in the story), so that may mean more time in between updates. I realized while writing this chapter that I have completely forgotten about Carlisle! Shame on me! So I'm hoping to introduce him in the next chapter, and try to get him in the story more.

Reviews = 3


	9. Chapter 9

I was still on my Edward-high when I arrived home, but I felt nervous about facing my family. I trusted that Alice hadn't told anyone what she'd seen, but they would find out soon enough. As I walked in the door, I noticed Jasper and Alice cuddled on the couch and watching television. Alice gave me a knowing smile, but turned her attention back to the screen quickly. Jasper's eyes lingered on my form, though, and his forehead creased in confusion.

"You okay, Bella?" he asked, feeling my odd mixture of nerves and euphoria. I nodded and bit my lip anxiously.

"Is Carlisle here?" I asked. I would need to speak to him first.

"He and Esme just left to hunt, about ten minutes ago," he answered.

"Alice, can you tell me where they are? I need to talk to him." She nodded once, and closed her eyes. After three seconds, they popped open.

"They're up by Rainier," she told me.

"Thanks. I think I'll go find them." I sprinted out the door and ran towards the north. It was better to do this alone with Carlisle and Esme, rather than in the house where the rest of my family could hear. I also needed to hunt myself, so I found it best to just tag along. They wouldn't mind.

I reached the rocky wilderness where we hunted often, and caught a whiff of their scent. "Carlisle! Esme!" I called out, barely raising my voice, and Carlisle was in front of me just a few moments later.

"Bella," he greeted me. "Esme's... preoccupied at the moment, did you need the both of us?"

"No, that's not necessary. Um... I just needed to speak with you." Carlisle's face morphed into one of concern, and he took a step closer to me as my eyes shifted nervously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"No," I shook my head, but wasn't sure if that was true. "Maybe... I'm assuming that Esme or Alice filled you in on the current... situation I'm in. I know we haven't talked in a while." Carlisle and I hadn't seen each other much since I met Edward. There was a huge accident on the freeway last week, and it left many people unconcious and unidentified, and others needing surgery, so he was pulling 18 hour shifts at the hospital.

"Yes," he said, and his lips pulled up into a tiny smirk. "Edward is his name?" I nodded and smiled at the sound of his name. "I think that's just wonderful, Bella. I'm so glad you found someone." I averted his eyes and looked down to the forest floor, feeling guilty. "What's the matter?"

"I told him," I responded, glancing up through my eyelashes to see his reaction. His eyebrows were raised in anticipation, willing me to finish my sentence with his confused eyes. "... about us. What we are." His face fell, but he didn't look angry. He looked... nothing. He wore a blank expression, and kept his hand on my shoulder.

"And how did he take it?" he asked after a long moment of silence. I laughed in surprise, still shocked that Edward didn't bolt away from me after I had told him.

"Fine. He didn't really seem phased by it." Carlisle chuckled once.

"Well, Bella, I can't tell you if this decision was right or wrong, but I know you. And I know that if you did something like this, you thought it was the right choice, and I'll support that choice. I can't speak for the others, though."

I frowned. Esme wouldn't be a problem, she had the purest heart of anyone I'd ever met, and a very optimistic attitude. She just wanted my happiness, and she would welcome Edward with open arms. I already knew that Alice was fervently supportive about my decision to be with Edward, and Emmett rolled with the punches. The chances of him being upset about anything in life, let alone this, were very slim, unless they involved Rosalie. And I knew Rosalie would definitely not be in support of my decision. She wanted to be human so badly that our anonymity was very important to her. She didn't want anyone outside of our family to know what she was. Jasper found it more difficult to be around humans, when it came to his thirst at least, and he wouldn't like that I had fallen in love with a human, or that this human knew our secrets, but he was relatively indifferent when it came to our affairs. He didn't find the need to force his opinion on us when he disapproved, unlike Rosalie.

We caught up with Esme, and I hunted with the two of them for a while, until each of our eyes were golden again, the sign of a well-fed Cullen. We ran back to the house, and parts of me were covered in dirt from the hunt, so I decided to take a shower.

I turned the faucet as hot as it would go, and let the warmth of it soothe and calm me. I took my time shampooing myself, and recalled the events of the day as the conditioner rinsed from my hair. I stood very still under the cascading water, closing my eyes and remembering back to our first kiss, the heat radiating from every part of Edward. His lips were smoldering, and his tongue felt like fire when he slid it along the inside of my mouth.

The memories of it caused venom to seep into my mouth, but I realized that something else was pooling over my tongue. I opened my eyes and realized that I had opened my mouth, lost in my fantasies, and the hot water had replaced Edward's lips on mine in my mind. I spit the water from my cheeks angrily, feeling like a complete fool. I finished washing myself in a rush, and jumped from the shower, tying the large towel tightly around me. I wiped the steam from the bathroom mirror, and ran my fingers through my hair, removing the tangles. I took the hair dryer from the top drawer, plugging it in and turning it on. I shook my head back and forth, flipping my hair every which way, and let the warm air dry every strand of my hair.

I held the appliance still, letting the stream of air linger on my neck and warm the cold skin. I closed my eyes again, and I imagined it was Edward touching my neck, cupping it with his hands, then kissing up and down my jawline. I could almost hear his heartbeat when I tasted more venom trickling down my throat. I snapped my eyes opened, and growled at myself. Would everything that involved heat now send me into disillusioned fantasies of Edward, and therefore cause my throat to burn with thirst? I gritted my teeth, and turned the hair dryer off, shoving it back into the drawer.

I dressed myself roughly, still mortified, and plopped down on my couch, crossing my arms in true teenager fashion. My eyes scanned the room for an activity, but I was bored - and lonely - already. Alice burst into my room, not bothering to knock, and placed both hands on her temple, fingers spread apart. "I sensed that you were bored," she said dramatically, then broke into a big grin, walking over to me, and pushing my feet out of the way roughly so she could sit next to me. I didn't move, and kept my unamused expression in place. She laughed at me. "What can I do?" she asked.

"Nothing," I mumbled. "It's going to be like this every night." I couldn't go back to his house and watch him sleep again. I was creeping myself out. "I'm just going to have to get used to it." She smacked my arm playfully.

"C'mon. We'll go somewhere."

"Go _where_?"

"Shopping." Her face lit up. I couldn't help but smile at her.

"Alice, we live in Forks and it's 11:30 at night. Where on earth could we shop?"

"We could go to New York. It's only 8:30 there. I think you could use some new shoes," she teased me. I rolled my eyes.

"New shoes don't cheer me up. They cheer _you_ up. And try as we might, we could not fly to New York City, shop, and be back here by the time school started, no matter how fast we are." She pouted, and looked thoughtful for a moment, then her face lit up again.

"We could go to Seattle then. It's a big city, something will be open."

"The only places open this late are 7/11 and Wal-mart," I laughed.

"Alright, let's go to Wal-mart." She grimaced as she said the words, but her voice still carried the enthusiasm. I laughed again, harder this time. I couldn't picture Alice, in her Marc Jacobs leather jacket and her Prada bag, dancing around in the Home and Gardening section.

"As much as I would _love_ to see you wandering around in a store that's one step up from a flea market, I think I'll pass. I appreciate the offer, Alice, but I really don't feel like doing anything." Well, I felt like seeing Edward. That's the only thing I wanted to do. I fought against the overwhelming tug I felt, coming from the direction of his home.

"You're sure?" she asked, skeptically. I smiled again. Alice was such a good sister, trying to help me in any way she could. I gave her a tight hug.

"I'm sure. Thank you," I said, pulling away and leaning back on the couch again. I felt a little better, but the moment she was out of my room, the tedium quickly returned.

I decided to watch some television to distract myself, and settled on a late night talk show. The host made predictable jokes about pop culture current events that I couldn't care less about, and I found it difficult to focus. My mind wandered. Sighing, I shut off the TV and went downstairs in search of something more productive to do. I heard laughter, cussing and taunting coming from the back yard and went to investigate. Jasper and Emmett were playing basketball on our back porch, and Emmett was losing. Alice was sitting on the ground, watching them, and laughing everytime Emmett came after Jasper, and failed at stealing the ball. I sat down next to her and observed their rowdy game. She looked over at me and smiled, sliding her arm through mine so that we were linked.

The game had distracted me for a bit, so I was glad. I couldn't help but find Emmett's frustration hilarious, and he got even more upset as the three of us laughed at him. Emmett may be strong, but he had nothing on Jasper when it came to speed. Emmett cussed Jasper out one more time, forfeiting the game and went off to find Rosalie. Jasper arrogantly sauntered over to Alice, and challenged her. I smiled, knowing this would be a short game. Alice was the only one who could beat Jasper at basketball.

I watched them play, laughing often as Jasper tried to pounce on Alice, but she always moved at just the right moment. She scored four baskets, and he scored none, when he finally gave up.

I figured going back to my room and brooding wouldn't be very helpful, and watching my siblings play basketball had preoccupied my thoughts, so after Alice beat Jasper, the three of us went inside to watch a movie. About ten minutes in, though, I found that I couldn't focus on the television screen. My eyes kept flickering to Alice and Jasper, who were snuggled together on the couch. He idly caressed her hand, and I felt a stab of jealously. My lonliness seeped back into my thoughts. Jasper felt this, and shot me a few glances, but didn't bring it up. I was grateful for that. After so long, I couldn't focus on the movie at all, and I excused myself, and went up to my room.

Plopping down on the couch again, I closed my eyes and tried to push thoughts of Edward from my mind. I failed, and pictured Alice and Jasper, cuddling on the sofa, but in their places were Edward and I. I wondered if we could ever be like that, if I could handle laying against his chest for a lengthy amount of time, hearing his heart beat, just centimeters from where his blood pulsed through his neck. The venom returned to my mouth, and the jealously I felt towards Alice and Jasper grew stronger. If only I were human... or if only Edward were... I cut myself off, appalled that I would even think about that.

I felt the tug again, the pull that was almost magnetic, and I wished desperately to run to Edward's house. I considered talking myself out of it, but knew that I would probably cave in eventually. If it wasn't tonight, it would be tomorrow. I couldn't keep it up for long... and Edward would never know. So it wasn't so wrong, right?

I tried to justify my obsessive stalker actions, but knew that no matter what reasoning I came up with, I was pathetic. I decided I didn't care. I would be pathetic, and hate myself for it later. I just wanted to see Edward. Watching him sleep was very calming.

I ran to his house as fast as I could, feeling very slow, even though it only took me three minutes to reach his home. I climbed the tree as I had previously done, and slid his window open, crawling carefully inside. I chuckled silently when I saw the way he was sprawled across his bed. I tip-toed over to him, and kneeled down, staring at his beautiful face. He didn't move, but his eyes were going crazy behind his closed lids. He was dreaming. I reached up and ran my fingers over his face very lightly, the same way I had last night. I let my hand trace all over it, over his twitching eyelids, across his cheekbones and down his jawline. I hesitantly drew circles around his lips, then let one finger ghost over the surface. His lips parted under my touch, and he let out a sharp breath. His pulse sped, and I snapped my eyes to his in a panic, afraid that he had waken up. His eyes were still closed, and still spinning in his head. His hands began twitching, and his lips moved slightly, as if he were trying to speak. I slid my hand down his arm and into his open hand, drawing invisible circles in it. I was surprised when his hand tightened around mine, and I looked back to his face. I heard him mumbling something in his sleep, but couldn't understand it. He repeated it three times, and the fourth time, he was clearer. I froze as I heard him murmur my name in his sleep.

He said it again, and I involuntarily moved closer to his face until we were just inches apart. He squeezed his eyes tighter, and then suddenly, they popped open. He turned his head to look at me, and I froze again, halting my breathing. He stared at me for a long while, and I contemplated running away. Maybe if I disappeared, he would think it was all just a dream, and not that I had broken into his home to watch him sleep. I felt humiliated, but I couldn't move. I was about to bolt away when he took me by surprise, and crushed his face to me, immediately using his lips to part mine and forcing his tongue into my mouth.

I knew this was wrong, and that I should leave, but I was still immobile. My eyes were wide with shock as he explored my mouth. I clenched my fists as I felt the venom rushing into my mouth, mixing with his taste. I managed to get my thirst under control, and my muscles thawed. My lips began to react to his, and without thinking, I moved my tongue to touch against his. He shuddered as ice met fire, and pulled me onto his bed, on top of him. I could have easily pulled away from him, but I couldn't find the will to do it. I slid my hands into his hair and tugged on it lightly. He tilted his head back when I did this, breaking our kiss. We were both panting, and he moved his lips to my neck. My eyes rolled back and closed, and I leaned into his kiss. He moved back to my lips, and quickly shoved his tongue back into my mouth.

His hands began to roam, over my back and up my side, and then back down again. He grabbed at the hem of my shirt, and my eyes snapped open. I finally felt reason return to me, and I rapidly rolled away from him, and off his bed. I was almost dizzy from the overwhelming feelings that his kiss had left me with. I stood next to his bed now, and he was propped up on his elbow, staring at me, bewildered. After a long while, I laughed shakily, not sure how else to respond. His expression didn't change. Finally, he spoke. "Am I dreaming?" he asked me. I shook my head. "That really just happened?" I nodded. He narrowed his eyes at me. "Why are you in my room?" he asked, confused. I shrugged.

"I'm not sure..."

"How'd you get in?"

"The window."

"Oh..." He looked away from me now, his eyes wandering absent-mindedly around his room.

"I'm sorry," I said. He looked back at me and chuckled.

"I'm not. Though I'm not entirely sure I'm awake." I sat down on his bed, folding my legs underneath me.

"I shouldn't have come," I explained. "I find it very... difficult to be away from you, though." I felt embarrassed, but he just smiled at me.

"It's alright. I'm really not complaining," he teased, and scooched closer to me, taking my hand that was playing with a loose string on his pillow, and wrapping his tightly around it. "The reality was much better than my dream, anyway."

"You were dreaming about me." It was more a statement than a question. He had said my name, so I knew as much, but he nodded. "Was it a good dream?" He laughed, and nodded again. I could see a very faint red tint his cheeks, and it made my throat burn.

"A very good dream." I looked down at our hands, and he squeezed mine.

"Do you want me to go?" I whispered, almost hoping he wouldn't hear me so that he couldn't tell me yes.

"No," he whispered back. He leaned in to kiss me again, but I stopped him, placing my free hand over his mouth.

"_That_ cannot happen again. I was much too careless to let it go that far. Remember what I said earlier today? _Slow_." He moved his lips so that they were against my wrist, and kissed it once, then pulled away. We sat next to each other, propped up against the headboard, and he yawned. "You need to go back to sleep," I said. He slid his arm behind my back and around my waist, pulling me closer to him.

"Will you stay?" he asked, his tone pleading. I wrapped my arm around him, and pulled myself against his chest, my face buried in his neck. I inhaled deeply, testing myself, and held the breath for a few seconds.

"Yes," I responded, exhaling. He squeezed me tighter and slid us so that we were laying flat. He kissed the top of my head, and not long after, his breathing evened out and I knew he was asleep.

We stayed like that for the rest of the night, wrapped in each other's arms, and in that moment, I felt very hopeful that this could... _would_ work out somehow.

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**A/N: **So I finally have a rough idea where I'm going with this (key word: rough), and I'm hoping to update more often than I have been, but sadly, life has been a little crazy lately. Thanks to everyone who has read/favorited/reviewed/whatevered, it makes me very happy that people are actually digging my story. XD Keep reviewing, I definitely love the reviews.

Just to reiterate, no, I do not respond to reviews, but I still love them and still take everything that is said into account! SO PLEASE DO SO.

Next couple chapters will probably just be more fluff and the establishing of their relationship. And Edward meeting the Cullens. And after that, perhaps some suspense?! OOH, intrigue! Stay with the story, and I will love you all forever!


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N**: I realize the ridiculous amount of time it's been since I updated. I'm sorry! Don't hate me. Life's been crazy.

Thanks so much for all the reviews. You know I love them. Keep 'em coming.

Here's some fluff. I'm sorry if there are errors, I didn't proof read, considering my eyes hurt.

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I lost my sense of time as I lay next to Edward, both of us entagled in a mess of blue cotton sheets. The loud, annoying beep that his alarm clock was emitting startled me, and Edward's head darted up, eyes still closed as he beat at the clock until he hit the right button. He laid his head back on the pillow, facing away from me, and seemed to be on the verge of sleep again. I smiled and gave his torso a squeeze, which made him jump.

He turned his body to me, and grinned when our eyes met. "Hey," he said, his voice thick with sleep, and he pulled me closer. I breathed him in, reveling in is scent and pushing the thoughts of thirst from my mind.

"Hi," I whispered back. We stayed in our silent embrace for a few moments before I pulled away, climbing off the bed. When Edward's expression changed to one of confusion, I gestured towards the clock. "School starts soon," I explained. "I've got to go home and change. I'll see you at school?"

"Sure," he responded, raspingly. I kneeled across the bed, and kissed his cheek. When I began to pull back, Edward's lips caught mine, and he kissed me softly, over and over again. I giggled, and separated myself from him.

"Get dressed. I'll see you soon," I said, tempted to steal another kiss, but knowing how quickly things would escalate. With a smirk, I dashed out the window and leapt into the tree, scanning the area below for any people that may be around. When the coast was clear, I fell from the tree and ran, sneaking behind the houses in the cover of the forest.

I was home in a matter of moments, and was greeted by Rosalie's scowl when I entered the house. Emmett and her were sitting in the living room, Emmett's eyes on the television, and Rosalie's still fixated on me. Against my better judgment, I allowed myself an annoyed response to her glare. "What?" I asked, agitated. She looked me up and down, eyes lingering on my wrinkled clothes, and then my disheveled hair. Her eyes narrowed more.

"Where were you?" she asked, no curiosity hiding behind her words. She knew where I was, and she wanted to yell at me for it, no doubt. I chose to ignore her, and as I climbed the stairs, I heard her scoff, and Emmett chuckle under his breath.

When I reached my room, I found Alice sitting on my couch, sitting Indian-style with her head propped in her hands, smirking at me. I rolled my eyes. Sometimes it was disgusting how cute she always was. "I'm sorry, I was under the impression that this was my room," I said as I crossed the room, and opened my closet.

"Ahem," she cleared her throat in her high-pitched voice, and gestured to a small pile of clothes sitting next to her.

"You don't waste any time, do you?" I laughed. I examined the outfit she picked for me today, and shook my head. "Alice, you sure do make it hard for a girl to blend in..."

"That's the point," she beamed.

"You don't think it's a little extravagant for me to wear this, when the rest of the student body wears t-shirts and ripped jeans every day?" I held up the flimsy red lace shirt and the black blazer she had laid out for me.

"Not in the least."

I laughed again, knowing that arguing with her would get me no where. Now that a boy was in the picture, Alice would want to play dress-up with me even more than she already did, so I figured I should get used to it. I began dressing while Alice chatted me up. "So how's it going? Are you doing okay?"

"I'm doing fine," I told her, slipping my legs into the jeans she had chosen for me. "Last night, we were laying together and... it almost seemed easy."

"I told you."

"Well, we'll see."

"It's only going to get easier," she shrugged. "The possibility of you killing him is completely gone." We laughed, but after a moment, a lump formed in my throat.

"And... and the other possibility?" I asked, reluctantly. She gave me a small sad smile, and I had my answer. I tried not to focus on that as I buttoned the jacket and examined myself in the mirror.

"Would it be so bad?" My eyes darted to hers, and I gave her a look that told her to drop it. I didn't want her to try to convince me, because if she did, it might work. It was something I wanted very much, and it was hard enough to talk myself out of it. I didn't need Alice giving me more reasons. She held up her hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. I get it. It's not the time." She grabbed a brush off of my nightstand, and crossed the room, brushing the back of my hair.

"I can't take his life away from him, Alice..." I whispered, painfully. "You know what I wish, but it's not fair to him."

"What about what he wants?" she asked, turning me so she could brush the strands around my face.

"He doesn't want this."

"How do you know? You haven't spoken to him about it."

"Nor am I going to," I retorted.

"So he doesn't have a choice?"

"His choice is to live. Sounds like a pretty good choice to me," I spat, my words filled with resentment. Neither of us spoke as Alice pulled my hair back and clipped it, half of it up, and the rest falling around my shoulders in messy waves. Alice sprinted to the bathroom, and returned in a second, make-up bag in hand. I sat on my couch as she went to work. "I'm sorry," I said as she brushed blush onto the apples of my cheeks. "I seem to be awfully short with you lately, huh?"

"It's okay. It's a sensitive subject for you. I guess... I just don't know what I'm missing. This is the only life I've ever known." I frowned at my sister. It must have been extremely difficult, waking up and not even knowing who you were, nothing present in your mind except thoughts of bloodlust. We'd all lost much of our human memories, but Alice had none. Sorrow for my sister overcame me while she carefully applied mascara to my eyelashes. "Don't be like that," she said, obviously reading the sadness on my face. I opened my eyes to look up at her.

"I don't feel sorry that I don't remember my life. I guess that's one perk of not remembering," she smiled. "What matters is my life now. Do I wish things were different sometimes? Sure. But I am surrounded by people I love more than anything in the world, and I can't imagine exchanging that. Not for my memories, not for a pulse, not for the ability to digest a slice of pizza." She paused, and we both laughed lightly, but her serious tone returned quickly. "I don't think we're damned, Bella. We just have a different way of living. There are so many things we're lucky for, and I think you'll see that soon... there, all done," she said, gathering up her supplies and placing them back into her cosmetics bag. "You look beautiful. Edward will love it." She kissed the top of my head, and with a smile, exitted the room.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror and digested Alice's words. She had such a simple view of the world, and she easily found peace within herself. I wished it could be so easy for me. With a sigh, I turned my thoughts to school, and the fact that I would see Edward again very soon. I sprinted down the stairs and made my way to the garage, where the rest of my siblings were now entering the car. Rosalie stared at me again before climbing in the front seat, and then I squeezed in the back in my usual spot.

"Why are you all dressed up?" Rosalie asked after Emmett pulled out of the garage. She tried to sound nonchalant, but I could hear the venom behind her words.

"No reason," I answered sharply.

The rest of the ride was silent, but I saw Rose's eyes darting back and forth between the mirrors, glancing at me continuously.

I saw Edward's car already in the parking lot when we arrived to school, and I couldn't stop myself from grinning. Once we parked, I was the first one out of the car. I spotted him sitting on a bench just a few yards away, and skipped over to him. As I approached him, he noticed me, and stood up, holding out his hand to me. I closed the distance and grabbed it, and he pulled me close, placing a chaste kiss on my lips. "Hi," I said, grinning like a fool.

"Hey." I twirled away from him, but kept our hands fused, and we began walking toward the Junior building. "You look very nice today," he leaned in and whispered in my ear. I watched as his eyes scanned over my form, and chuckled. If it were possible for me to blush, I'm sure I would have. We received some odd looks from our fellow classmates as we continued the walk to homeroom in silence, but he didn't seem to mind, and neither did I. The world practically disappeared to me, and I felt like I was floating.

We walked slowly to the classroom, and I was sad when we reached my homeroom and had to part ways. I placed my hand around his neck, feeling goosebumps on his skin, and pulled his face to mine, our lips meeting in a sweet kiss. His tongue slid out and he gently traced the shape of my lips, moving slowly and carefully. The warning bell rang out, and I pulled back, my entire body tingling. I smiled, and mouthed a "bye" to him, before slipping into the classroom.

We sat next to each other at an empty table during lunch, and he held my hand under the table. We talked the entire time, about nothing, laughing and whispering, and he barely touched his food.

Biology was next, and we couldn't stop glancing at each other. Neither of us managed to pay attention to what Mr. Banner was speaking about.

It was another sad parting as went went our separate ways to our final two classes, but we met up when the day was over, and drove to the meadow, which had now become our special hideaway. We'd talk, kiss, star at the stars when the sun set, skip stones in the creek. It was so simple, and so wonderful. Then we'd go back to his house, and lay in each other's arms all night.

The next few weeks was very much a routine of this, and it was bliss. We spent every possible moment together, and nothing else existed but us two.

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**A/N: **Alright, so... next chapter, meeting the Cullens probably? I don't want to promise a speedier update, but I will certainly try not to let it go for 2 months again. **Please review!**


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